Strangers When We Meet
by brienandrea20
Summary: Sarah just found out that her boyfriend of seven years has been cheating on her. When her best friend comes over one night to help unpack in Sarah's new apartment, Sarah accidentally brings up her "dream man" in a drunken stupor. Feeling uneasy about saying his name but doing so anyway, things begin to happen that bring her dream man to her reality once again. (MODERN DAY)
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at FanFiction and I'm a little nervous to be posting this. I've been wanting to write one for a while, but I've never been a writer or a storyteller. I only write long research papers for school. I just get so inspired by the stories I see here though, and figured I'd try and see what happens. I have absolutely no idea where this story is heading so far, so bear with me. And please give me feedback, whether it's constructive criticism, where you'd like to see the story go, or just any thoughts you may have. Also, there's soooo many different stories out there, so if this sounds faintly familiar to anyone else's story, then I apologize. That is not my intent and this is meant to be an original. Thanks, guys!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from _Labyrinth_ , nor am I making a profit from it. All characters are owned by Jim Henson, et al.**

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"Yeah dad, everything is good. I'm okay. I promise."

"We're just worried about you, you know…? Karen and I… we would like to see you happy, Sarah."

"I am happy dad. Life just sucks at the moment. But I'll be fine. Shit happens, you know? I appreciate you being concerned. Thanks for everything lately. Look, I gotta go, Alexa is going to be over soon to help me unpack. I'll call you later this week. Tell Toby I miss him."

"I will. I love you honey. Talk soon."

"I love you too. Bye dad."

I hung up the phone with my dad and took a deep breath as I closed my eyes for a few brief seconds, leaning against a wall in the kitchen. _What a fucking day. More like month really._ I looked at the time on the microwave; 6:17 PM. _Uggghhh, will this day never end?_

It had been nearly four weeks since I found out that my boyfriend of seven years, Paul, had been cheating on me and finding a new place had been hell. Since I found out, I had been squatting at my dad and Karen's place until I was able to find decent living quarters, and while it was nice for the first two weeks being with them and Toby, I was ready to be out of there. Apartment hunting turned out to be more difficult than I thought, and while I made a decent living being a paralegal, I forgot how expensive it is living alone. On top of that, work has been crazy, my mom is crazy, social media these days is crazy… _She isn't even cute…_ I suddenly thought to myself. _Ugh. Stop thinking about_ _ **her**_ _._ I brushed off the painful thought and walked over to my newly purchased couch and looked around my apartment as I sat down and contemplated my new life. _25 and single. At least I have a good job. And friends. And an amazing family._ Despite trying to boost my ego, I felt really alone all of a sudden and I stared at my belongings in the corner of the room with disdain _._ I had absolutely no interest in unpacking the boxes that I hastily packed from mine and Paul's shared condominium. _Thank God for Alexa. I guess I should get started, unless I want to live out of boxes for the rest of my life._

I begrudgingly scooted off the couch and crawled towards the boxes. Sitting indian style, I felt overwhelmed at just how much stuff I actually had and wiped my hand down my face, suddenly feeling stressed. Letting out another exasperated sigh, I finally opened one box and quickly regretted it. How in the hell had I managed to pack the pictures of me and Paul in my supposed haste? _Stupid bastard._ _He never deserved me_ , I thought bitterly. I took the picture on top out anyway, forgetting my feelings of contempt towards Paul and took a long hard look at the photo. It was a picture of me and Paul on graduation day three years ago. I chuckled to myself, thinking about that day and all the amazing times before that. I still remember the day I met him in philosophy class my freshman year of college and how cute I thought he was; smart, funny, cocky… _god damnit, knock it off Sarah! He_ _ **cheated**_ _on you!_ A single tear fell down my cheek just then, and I abruptly wiped it away and threw the picture across my small living room. _Remind myself to burn all those someday._

I suddenly heard a knock at the front door and stood up to go answer it. My best friend of thirteen years was standing on the other side and had a huge smile plastered on her face when I opened the door.

"What are you so excited about? We're just unpacking" I reminded her, chuckling. I moved to let Alexa in and she walked over to the kitchen and set down her purse and Lululemon bag on the kitchen counter. I saw her rummaging around in the bag and what I saw next had me smiling.

"Yeah, and look what I brought for us: pizza rolls, chocolate cake, and your favorite wine: St. Francis!"

I took the frozen treats out of her hand and looked on the back for its nutrients information.

"Pizza rolls? We ate this stuff back in high school, and I don't think I've eaten them ever since I overheard you and Conner getting it on in your bedroom after Summer Spectacular. Plus these are full of sodium and have a ridiculous amount of calories for being so small."

"How do you remember these things? That was like… ten years ago. And so what? You look like you've lost weight, you could use the calories."

"Actually it was seven, and I could never forget such lovely sounds."

I set the pizza rolls down on the kitchen counter, ignoring her comments about my weight. I realized that I was lacking glasses for our wine. "Shit, I don't have any wine glasses."

"Yeah I assumed that. Lucky for you I brought over some plastic ones" Alexa responded as she sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out the plastic wine cups from her bag.

I joined her, grateful for her friendship. "And this is why we're best friends."

She looked around the apartment and then back at me. "I'm guessing you don't have a bottle opener either."

"Damnit, no. My life is chaotic right now, I haven't exactly thought about these things."

"I figured. That's why I came prepared." Alexa took out a small, cheap bottle opener out of her purse; "Ta-da! Hand me that wine."

I got up and grabbed the bottle of cabernet off the kitchen counter and handed it to her. I watched as she opened the bottle and poured us some wine. I felt so appreciative in that moment that I had a best friend in her. She then handed me a plastic cup filled with wine, and I took a sip, feeling relaxed already. Alexa and I sat in silence briefly, letting the wine take over our senses.

I could feel awkwardness in the air, like she was waiting for me to bring up Paul. I wasn't going to bite, and Alexa knew it. No longer being able to stand it, she broke the ice first. "So. How are you? I know I keep asking, but…"

I quickly interrupted; "I'm fine. Well, as fine as I could be, I guess."

We stared at each for a few seconds, and I could tell she was waiting for me to finally say something. I gave in this time.

"Do you even think he cares? He hasn't called me once. NOT ONCE! Isn't he supposed to like… pretend to want me back? Or feel bad for what he did? We were together for seven years for fuck's sake! Does that mean nothing to him? And that girl….gah, she is so ugly! What does he even see in her? I gave him everything. Why can't things just go back to normal?"

I was breathing heavily at this point, trying not to cry all over again. Alexa gave me a sympathetic look.

"Would you even want him back if he asked? No offense Sar, but...Paul was always kind of a dick anyway."

"Yeah, I know he was. And I don't know… I miss him. But I'd never trust him again. And he has horrible taste in women to cheat with, so what does that say about him? But maybe I'd consider it, if he wanted me…"

I took another swig from my cup and felt pathetic for even considering taking him back. I looked at Alexa with uncertainty, and she gave me a half grin, letting me know she wasn't judging me.

"I know it's hard. But speaking from personal experience, I never trusted Conner again after he cheated on me. It changed everything. You're better off."

"I guess so. Blaahhhh, can we just not talk about it right now? Let's heat up those pizza rolls, get drunk, and unpack these boxes."

Alexa laughed and took a huge gulp of her wine. "Sounds good to me! Let's put some music on first."

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Three hours later we had barely made a dent in unpacking and somehow ended up in my dress-up clothes instead, laughing hysterically in my closet over our old mutual friend, Lauren.

"God she is psycho. I can't believe you still talk to her. Why I'll never understand." Alexa was just finishing up the remnants of her near empty cup of wine and laughed even more when some drizzled out the corner of her mouth.

"Gross. And I know, I know. But I can't just kick her to the curb… I feel kind of bad telling you her secrets. Maybe I should shut up and stop talking about her to you."

I too, finished up what would be my third 8-ounce cup of wine. _Fuck, I am so going to regret this tomorrow,_ I thought.

"Whatever. You're nicer than I am, and she'd share your secrets with the whole world if she could. She's such a bitch."

"Yeah, well, luckily for me I don't really have any. Dude I'm drunk."

Alexa laughed; "I am too."

We both let out satisfying sighs and briefly shut our eyes, our heads falling back against the wall. _I feel way too warm in this puffy ass dress._ A few moments passed by, and a David Bowie song came on in the background. _"Put on your red shoes and dance the blues…"_

 _Everything's dancing. Yep. Definitely drunk. I suck at drinking. Hmm… dancing._ My thoughts turned towards the dream I had nearly every week where I was in a crowded ballroom, searching for **him**. _God, he's so beautiful. Now that's a fantasy every girl would be happy to have._ I felt even warmer all of a sudden, thinking about his hands on my waist, and where else I would like them to go… lower and lower, under my dress…

"Speaking of secrets… I'm sort of seeing someone."

My pleasant thoughts were interrupted by this statement and I opened my eyes and saw that Alexa's were still closed. She was afraid to tell me.

"What? Who? Since when?"

I suddenly felt anxious and hurt. First of all...how could she have not told me? Second... I was supposed to be throwing myself a pity party here, yet now I'm having to hear that my best friend is seeing someone while my ex is screwing some homely woman. Will this shitty day never end? Wait no, shitty month.

She sighed and opened her eyes to meet mine.

"His name is Patrick… it's new and it isn't serious yet. I only met him about a month ago, shortly before you found out about Paul, and I wasn't sure if I should tell you, considering…" she looked down, ashamed.

I looked at my best friend, studying her waiting for a better explanation as to why she had waited so long to tell me. One didn't come, and I didn't want to be a bitch; clearly she felt nervous, which made me feel bad. I guess I understood her reasoning. I thought about what I should say next, and decided to be supportive. _Well, one of us deserves to be happy_.

Sighing, I gave Alexa a smile. "Look, I'm not mad. I appreciate you telling me. Do you like him?"

Alexa looked relieved almost immediately. "Thanks. Like I said, it's still new. Our work schedules conflict, so I haven't really seen much of him. But I do like him. He's really sweet. We should go on a double date soon!"

I rolled my eyes at this and laughed.

"Lex… I just got out of a relationship that I'm not exactly over yet; I haven't even met this Patrick fellow; and...does he even have cute friends that you've met? You know how picky I am." _Not that I'm ready to date...unless it's fantasy man_ I thought giddily.

"Actually, he does have a really cute friend. It's his roommate, his name is Blake. He's blonde" she said in a sing song voice. Blondes were my weakness.

I let my head fall back against the wall again, closed my eyes, and smiled in contentment.

"There's only one blonde I would ever want."

As soon as I said the words, I instantly regretted doing so. _Fucking wine._ I hadn't told anyone, not even Alexa, of the fantasy man from my dreams. Maybe she didn't hear me...

"Wait, what? Who are you talking about? Please don't say Paul."

 _God damnit. This was going to require another glass of wine, as Alexa wasn't gonna give this one up._

I immediately stood up and quickly felt the effects of the wine. _Scratch that idea about another glass._ I waited a few seconds until my head was clear again and sauntered over to my bed where I plopped down on it. Alexa followed suit; _yeah, she's definitely not giving this up._

"No... it isn't Paul. And I don't know who he is, really. It's just reoccurring dreams I have. About this man. Like I said, I don't know who he is, but I dream about him often. Usually we're in a ballroom together, or somewhere in this...land. It's silly, I know. But I don't know… it's almost like I know him somehow. I just can't figure out from where. Anyway..."

I tried changing the subject, but Alexa wasn't having it.

"Wait, hold on. This is reoccurring you said? How long has this been going on? What does this guy look like? And what exactly happens in these dreams of yours? You certainly have a vivid imagination. Though I'm not surprised, you always have. You and your fantasy novels, I swear."

I laughed lightly at all her questions and her last comment. I love Alexa, but she's always given me shit for my interest in what she calls "nerd stuff" _,_ AKA fantasy themed books, movies, topics… the works. _And this is why I didn't want to bring up mystery man._

"Yes, they're reoccurring. I've been having these dreams for about seven years now. Since I started dating Paul, now that I think about it. And the situations and settings change sometimes, but usually the dreams involve sex, obviously. The man in them, he's... well he's indescribable. He's tall, blonde, lean, has a glorious head of long, rocker style, blonde hair. He has blue eyes, though one pupil is dilated, and even though he wears gloves, I imagine he has amazing hands... he wears these tight breeches that leave nothing to the imagination, black riding boots, and he has this aura to him that screams dominance, and…"

I stopped myself right there, realizing how detailed oriented I was getting, and could feel Alexa gazing at me with curiosity mixed with haughtiness. I looked over to her, and she was smirking at me.

"Interesting. And… does this tall drink of water have a name in your dreams?" she asked in a somewhat joking tone.

 _His name? Do I know his name?_ I thought about this for a minute, when the realization dawned on me that yes, yes I do know his name. Before I was about to say anything though, a feeling of dread washed over me as I had never said his name aloud before to anybody, and it felt way too taboo. _Why do I suddenly feel so nervous? It isn't like he's real_.

I sighed loudly. _I should just say it; it'll be nice to finally share this with someone. She probably won't remember tomorrow anyway._

"Jareth. His name is Jareth. And he's the Goblin King."

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Character Backgrounds:

Sarah: Sarah is 25 years old in this story. She works as a paralegal for some law firm in NYC, and loves her job. She studied criminal justice during her undergrad and then did a course for paralegal school. She met Paul, her ex boyfriend, when she was 18 during her first semester at school. I imagine Sarah to look like how Jennifer Connelly does in the movie The Hot Spot during this story, even though JC was only around 20/21 in that movie. Sarah has an assertive personality but she's a little sad when this story starts off so she feels vulnerable and extra sensitive. Her memories from the Labyrinth have been wiped out (supposedly), but that explanation will come later as to why. She's been dreaming of Jareth ever since she and Paul started dating, thinking it's from all her years of reading of romantic fantasy books.

Alexa: Alexa is Sarah's best friend and she and Sarah are the same age. They met when they were 12, living as next door neighbors, but Alexa moved about 20 minutes away a year later, leaving Sarah feel more alone when Toby was born. Alexa is a nurse and works night shifts, hence her hectic schedule. She's a very serious individual, but a good and caring friend. She may come across as cold sometimes, but it's due to her lack of imagination. In this story, Alexa looks like Emma Roberts, just with more of a brown hair color.

Jareth: How do I even describe Jareth? Jareth is Jareth. In this story he will be more sensitive than what we're used to seeing. I don't do Dark Jareth for a few reasons, so in this story he'll be "romantic" Jareth and will actually care for Sarah very much. It's still Jareth, so he is moody, bossy, selfish occasionally, arrogant, and intimidating but sweet and quite loveable too. He isn't aware of Sarah's dreams at the beginning of this story. Obviously he's the GK, and rules in the southern part of the Underground.

Paul: Paul is Sarah's ex boyfriend and he's 25, extremely intelligent, going to law school, and working his way up to being a partner in a fancy law firm in NYC. He, like Sarah, studied criminal justice during his undergrad. He's a bit cocky, has a big ego, and tends to use people to get where he needs to be. He cheated on Sarah with a girl from his class. He looks like Cam Gigandet in this story.

Angel: Angel is the owner of the psychic shop that Sarah visits. She's an older woman, appearing to be around 55-60 years old. She resembles Lynda Carter (presently) and has quite the get up. She's always wearing baggyish clothes, and as affinity for Tarot Cards and other topics that revolve around the mysterious or supernatural.

Lucis: Jareth's best friend and advisor. They've been friends since they were children, and Lucis has pretty much grown up with Jareth. His father died in battle with Jareth's father and grandfather, and his mother is on her death bed when he is introduced in this story. He resembles Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in this story, with the longer hair style.

Jareth's Mother/Elysia: Jareth has a strained relationship with his mother when she is introduced. She lives in the Capital in the underground, which is the northeast region, and fell into depression after the death of Jareth's father. She couldn't stand living in the place that reminded her of him, so she left, abandoning Jareth and leaving him to be raised by his uncle when he was a teenager. She's been trying to reach out for years now, with little to no success. She resembles an older Sharon Stone, just with green eyes. She cares for Jareth very much, she just isn't sure how to act as a mother anymore since Jareth tries pushing her away constantly.

Will add major characters as they come. Toby and the rest of Sarah's family won't be in this story; only mentioned throughout it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Soooo, totally was not expecting to post a second chapter so soon, but it happened. Still not a lot happening JUST yet, but it's building to that, I promise. I hope you guys enjoy this. I'm having fun writing it so far. :) Please review! Also, this chapter contains a brief amount of sexy smut ;)  
**

 **DISCLAIMER: Still do not own _Labyrinth_ , nor am I profiting off of this story in any way. All characters belong to Jim Henson, et al. **

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"Jareth. His name is Jareth. And he's the Goblin King."

I stared up at the ceiling, afraid to make eye contact with Alexa, knowing she'd probably make fun of me. When what felt like several minutes had passed, I looked over at her finally, and she was attempting to hold back a laugh.

No longer being able to, she fell back onto the bed and burst into laughter. "Oh my god, you actually have a name for your dream man?! Oh that is too good."

The laughter continued and I started seething, forcing me to grab the nearest pillow and smacked her with it.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?"

"Stop laughing at me. I knew I shouldn't have said anything to you." I noticed Alexa was rubbing her neck; maybe I hit her harder than I thought I did. _Still not apologizing,_ I thought.

Alexa rose back up, rolling her neck around, and gave me a sad smile.

"Sarah, I'm sorry but… your dreams must be more vivid than I thought if you have a name for this guy. I mean, Jareth, really? And Goblin King? What the heck does that even mean? How did you come up with that one? Also...you've been dreaming about him for **seven** years? That probably isn't normal. Did Paul ever know about this?"

I contemplated her questions, and thought back to my own... how did I know his name? I don't recall us having conversations throughout my dreams where he introduced himself and said, "Oh hey Sarah, how are you? I'm Jareth, the big bad Goblin King." Usually the dreams just consisted of us playing a cat and mouse game, and once he pounced on me I ended up on my back, with him fucking my brains out _._ I shrugged off the thought.

"I don't know how I know his name honestly. But somehow I just…know. Maybe I picked it up somewhere in a book and it stuck. And no, Paul never knew. I haven't told anyone this before. Look, can we change the subject? You're making me feel dumb." I decided to completely ignore her comment about the longevity of my dreams. Seven years _was_ a long time to be having these dreams, but it wasn't a cause for concern. Right?

I sat up and began to take off my play dress. All I wanted to do at this point was put on my pj's, brush my teeth, and go to bed. Perhaps even dream about my so called 'Goblin King' to escape reality for a bit.

Alexa was still snickering on the bed, and I turned to her and gave her a playful, yet threatening look. "I swear, if you keep laughing at me…"

She put her hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay. Sorry. It's just too silly is all. You're literally having fantasies about a fake guy you spun together from your imagination, while you had a boyfriend. No more fantasy books for you, missy."

With that, Alexa got off the bed as well, and went into the bathroom. She left me pondering in my bedroom, with my dress halfway on still. _Yeah, well...Paul clearly deserved to be cheated on in my dreams. And while my fantasy man might be fake, the dreams never felt more real. Nor did my attraction to him._

I hadn't really ever put too much thought into the dreams, just taking them for fantasies due to years of reading romance fantasy books as Alexa suggested. _Not that my sex life sucked..._ The more I began to think about my dreams though, the odder I felt. Especially after saying his name... _It's just the wine. This is what alcohol does to you, Sarah, relax._

I brushed off my thoughts and rid myself of the remainder of the dress I had been wearing. After putting some pj's on, I stepped back out into the dark living room and into the kitchen where I was going to get a bottle of water. _Water always cures everything,_ I convinced myself.

Snatching a bottle from the fridge, I turned and was about to walk back to my room until a feeling of unease came over me. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked around in the darkness, as if I would see someone or something pop out at me. I squinted harder and could have sworn I saw the outline of a figure on the other side of the living room, standing by the large window that overlooked the city.

Freaking out, I turned around and turned on the nearest light.

Alexa came walking into the kitchen just then, moaning and rubbing her eyes as she adjusted to the brightness.

"Ugh, a little warning would have been nice. Can you grab me a water too?"

I continued to stare across the living room, my heartbeat racing. _I swear someone was over there…_

"Earth to Sarah, come in Sarah. Hellloooo?"

I broke out of whatever daze I was in and looked over to Alexa, realizing I probably looked insane.

"Sorry, here." I handed her the bottle of water I had originally gotten for myself, and went back to the fridge to grab another one. When I turned back around, Alexa was staring at me with a confused and worried expression.

"Are you okay? You seriously look on edge, like you've seen a ghost."

I looked down, embarrassed at my actions. Feigning innocence, I looked back up at her and smiled, trying to reassure her. "Yeah, everything is fine. I just remembered that I have to research for an opinion I'm helping draft at work on Monday, and I'm just not excited for it." _God I'm the worst liar._

I walked past Alexa back into my bedroom, and sprawled out on my bed. Alexa soon joined me, still giving me a concerned look. I figured bringing up Patrick would take the heat off of me so I began asking her light hearted questions about him.

"So… how did you and Patrick meet?"

Alexa smiled and I could tell my plan was working. She laid flat on her back and began to tell me the events of their meeting.

"We met through Jennifer. They know each other from physical therapy school, and one day he came over to her place dropping off some notes while I was there. I was instantly attracted to him, and we started talking about the similarities between nursing school and PT school and…."

I let Alexa go on about her first meeting with Patrick while I was swimming in my own thoughts. I couldn't place my finger on it, but I felt so paranoid. _What is wrong with me? Why do I feel so jittery? I've been drunker than this, and I've never felt this antsy._

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to relieve some of the tension in my body. I could hear Alexa still talking in the background, barely registering what she was saying. All this talk about my dreams had me thinking of **him.** I must have been more tired than I originally thought, because I swear I was dreaming within a few minutes of closing my eyes.

I wasn't in the ballroom this time, but instead walking through a forest. I had on a long, low cut, white sheath dress with a slit, and nothing underneath it. _Holy exposed_ , I thought feeling shy. I began wandering in the forest, knowing this game. It always started out this way: me, alone, looking for him, yet he always had eyes on me.

I stopped walking, knowing he was there, watching me. I slowly turned around, and sure enough- there he was, studying me like a hawk. I took him all in, noticing his attire. White poets shirt, exposed chest, and those tight, black breeches. _No one should be this beautiful..._ He began his descent on me, unhurriedly walking my way. He finally reached me, and I swear I could register his scent, as if it was real- _God, he smelled so good; so manly._ He had an earthly aroma to himself, containing what smelled like fresh rainfall: crisp, clean, and refreshing.

He gazed upon me, looking me up and down. He had a look of approval on his face, as if he had won the prize pick of the fair. All of a sudden, he began to talk.

"Hello, Sarah."

 _Wait, he was actually talking to me this time? This was new._

I stared at him, mouth agape. _Say something back you idiot! But what? We've never exchanged words. Words were never necessary between us. Fuckfuckfuck._

He had a smug look on his face then, and gave me a condescending smirk. "Cat got your tongue? And what a wonderful tongue it is. So full of talent, I'm sure." He smiled this time, showing off his fascinating pointy teeth.

I continued to just stare at him, blushing. I literally could think of nothing to say, still reeling over the fact he was speaking to me.

"Well, Precious? Still nothing to say? I must admit, this is rather...surprising. But no matter. Ever since you spoke my name, I now know of ways to get you to... _talk,_ if you will."

Before I could even comprehend what the hell he meant by that he pounced on me, pushed me against the nearest tree by grabbing my hips, and his lips were suddenly on mine. Normally these situations between us start out slow and frustratingly tantalizing. Now, however, it felt desperate and possessive, like he hadn't seen me in months. _Of course he hasn't seen you in months, Sarah. He's not real. And this is a dream. Right?_

It certainly didn't feel like a dream. No, this felt so real, so…good. His tongue slipped into my mouth, ridding me of all thought and making me moan with desire. I could feel the throbbing at my core, which was currently soaked due to my arousal. Because I wasn't wearing any underwear, I was literally dripping with need down my leg. Feeling brazen, I met his tongue with mine, and pushed my body into his, making myself feel his own arousal. Jareth growled, and sudden he was kissing me harder and deeper, with a fervent, urgent need I've never known before. His gloved hands snuck their way down from my waist to my ass, and I felt one hand slide past the slit in my dress. _I wish he'd take off his gloves damnit, I want to feel his touch._

All of a sudden, Jareth pulled back, and studied me. He had a devilish grin upon his face, and ever so slowly did he peel off his gloves. _Why is this so sexy to watch?_ I licked my lips in eagerness, waiting for what he was going to do next. He then threw the nuisances to the ground and got to his knees before me. _What on earth…_ Before I could register what was happening, he had ripped my dress open further, expanding the slit so that my entire womanhood was on display for him.

"So beautiful" he whispered.

Just as he was about to snake his expert tongue up my achingly wet slit, I was being shaken by some blasted entity.

 _Nononono!_ I started grumbling in my sleep, and realized that I was being woken up by Alexa.

"Are you even listening to me? Did you seriously fall asleep while I was mid story? Who even falls asleep that fast?"

I adjusted my eyes to the light in my bedroom and saw that Alexa was hovering over me. I seriously could not have been more pissed that I had been woken up from my dream. _Right when things were getting hot, too._

Looking at the clock on my floor, I saw that it was only 10:00 PM but I had never felt more tired. _There's that antsy feeling again_. "Sorry. I didn't realize how exhausted I was. Look, I don't mean to be a brat, but can we just go to bed? I have a huge headache right now and we'll have to wake up early to unpack all my shit."

I got up to turn the lights off, and waited for a response from Alexa before I did so. I tilted my head to one side and raised my eyebrows, giving her an indication that if she wanted to say one last thing before we fell asleep this was her chance.

She rolled her eyes at me, and fell onto the bed, laying on her side. "Fine. I'll tell you tomorrow. Wanna get Roberto's in the morning?"

I clicked the light off and walked back to my bed, feeling sick over the thought of greasy Mexican food. "That sounds so gross right now. How about we see how we feel in the morning? All I wanna do is sleep."

"Alright. Good night, grumpy" Alexa mumbled.

I chuckled at my friend. "Good night. Thanks for being here. And sorry for being a grandma, I know it's early."

I heard Alexa laugh lightly, and felt her turn towards me. "You're welcome. I'll always be here for you."

Squeezing my hand, Alexa shifted onto her side again, away from me. I gave her an appreciative smile in the darkness, and turned my thoughts back to that dream I had moments ago.

 _Why did that one leave me feeling so...weird?_ I tried shaking off that paranoid feeling I got again, and closed my eyes, hoping the anxiety would pass.

Minutes had gone by, and as soon as I was feeling somewhat calm again, I could have sworn I heard something, somewhere, whisper the words, "Goodnight, Precious."

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I woke up the next morning to the sound of rustling noises being made from the living room. I groggily sat up, and looked around, wondering why Alexa was awake.

I peered at the clock; 7:12 AM. _Why the hell is she up so early? I didn't_ literally _mean we had to wake up early to unpack._ I shoved the sheets and duvet off myself, and rubbed my face. _Thank god. No hangover._ I felt a brief moment of relief for the lack of feeling sick until I remembered one thing... _oh god, I told Alexa about my dreams, didn't I?_

My hands sprang from my face and I felt very hot, mentally kicking myself for ever bringing him up. _Stupid, Sarah. Alexa is going to hold this over my head for the rest of our lives._ I decided now was as good as any other time to just face her, and see what jokes she would crack about the situation.

I sat up and walked to the bathroom to do my morning routine. Once I was done, I headed into the living room warily, only to find Alexa sorting through the boxes. She saw me and gave me a toothy grin.

"Well good morning, grumpy gills! Sorry to wake you. It's just my body felt oddly well rested since we went to bed so early and what not" she teased.

I rolled my eyes and joined her on the floor, still nervous that she'd bring up the dream conversation, but it didn't come so I settled into a normal conversation.

"I know, I'm sorry. The wine caught up with me, and just everything that's been going on… I was mentally drained. How long have you been at this? I feel bad that you're unpacking my stuff without my help."

"It's no big deal, really. I only just started like thirty minutes ago. But I am hungry. Do you wanna grab something to eat and then come back and tackle this after? You were right by the way, Roberto's sounds absolutely disgusting right now, so that's a no go. How are you feeling, lightweight?"

I thought again about the fact that I had no hangover and silently praised the higher powers that I didn't. "I actually feel good… a little tired still, but no headache and no feeling of queasiness. In fact…"

Before I could finish my sentence, my stomach growled ferociously and Alexa gave me a surprised look and laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes, you want to grab some food. Where shall we go?" She sat up and walked back into my bedroom, presumably to change into something decent.

I followed her and within ten minutes we had freshened ourselves up and were out the door. We decided on a café around the corner from my apartment building and brought home some latte's and breakfast croissants.

Once we finished our meals, we got into work mode and had mostly unfinished packing everything by midafternoon. We passed the time away with her finishing up her story of how she and Patrick met, what he was like, and all that good stuff.

When we felt satisfied with the place, I looked around my apartment and nodded approvingly. _Not too shabby. It's beginning to feel somewhat like home. I wonder what Paul is doing…_ I shook my head, chiding myself for thinking about him again. I was also mildly surprised Alexa still hasn't brought up **that** topic.

I looked over to her and she was smiling in triumph, proud of our work. She glanced my way and raised her hand for a high five, which I returned.

"Girl power! Hey I hate to run out like this, but I kind of wanna go home and take a nap before I go into work at 7. Is that okay?"

I gave her a look which indicated that she doesn't need to ask my permission to go home and sleep before she works a 12 hour shift. "No, I'm going to keep you hostage here with me. Of course. Go home and rest."

I gave her a long hug, appreciative for her and her help. "Thanks again so much. You're the best."

Alexa hugged me back and chuckled. "You don't have to thank me. I'm just glad we got your apartment into sorts. I did leave that one box alone over there, the one with the pictures of you and Paul. I figured you'd want to go through them."

I looked in the direction that she pointed and moaned in frustration. _Argh, do I have to? I just want to forget about that prick._ "Yeah, I'll get to those later as in, never."

I walked her to the door and gave her another hug. As I was about to say goodbye, Alexa just had to get one last comment in.

"Now remember, no more fantasy books or thinking about your fake 'king'. We need to find you a _real_ man."

I lightly pushed her out the door and laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Go get some sleep and save lives."

Once we said our final goodbyes, I took my apartment into full view, and I stopped, setting my sights on the area near the window where I could have sworn I saw someone last night. I hardened my eyes and walked over to investigate the scene.

 _What the hell am I trying to find? It isn't like there's anyone here with me._ I sighed, and looked down at the city below me, taking it all in. As I stood there, I thought once again about my dream from last night. _What the hell was up with that one? These dreams don't usually leave this kind of effect on me..._ I kept thinking about it and shuddered, going back to those last few seconds where he ripped the dress and exposed me. _He said something about me saying his name... "_ _ever since you spoke my name, I now know of ways to get you to talk." What the hell did that mean?_ I furrowed my brows, contemplating that line over and over.

I stayed in that spot for several more minutes thinking about what transpired and why it bothered me so much. _Whatever. It's no use. Nothing comes to mind._ I let out a defeating sigh and rubbed my eyes; sleepiness began to take over and I decided to go take a nap as well. When I turned around to go back to my room, my entire body froze and once again my heart started pounding out of my chest.

There, on my kitchen table, lay a single white feather.


	3. Chapter 3

**So this chapter will start off being told from Jareth's perspective. I plan to go back and forth between the two occasionally, for at least a couple of chapters. I'll let you know when I do this so no one is confused. This chapter doesn't really have a lot of conversation; it's mostly put here as background and filler, specifically from Jareth, and an update as to how Sarah is feeling. The next chapter will focus solely on his conversation with the Labyrinth that will (hopefully) clear up what is happening and why. If it doesn't... then more stuff will be explained later.  
**

 **DISCLAIMER: I still own nothing from _Labyrinth_ , nor am I making a profit from it. All characters are owned by Jim Henson, et al.**

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 **JARETH**

I sat in my throne, one leg thrown over the armrest and watched what looked like a confused and anxious Sarah through a crystal. Her friend had finally left, and she was now standing by the window and looking outside through it, most likely pondering her recent dream involving me and its meaning.

I too, had been thinking about the recent events that transpired in the last eighteen hours, feeling a little confused myself and still couldn't quite believe the sudden circumstances. I continued to watch the green eyed beauty and could definitely tell that Sarah was distressed. I sighed and rubbed my hand along my mouth and chin.

It had been ten years…ten long, excruciating years since I had seen her last. She had grown to be even more beautiful than I ever dreamt of. I thought about her nearly every day, driving myself mad in the process. _Why did I remove her memories again?_ Ah, yes. Because of those damned rules.

The rules which stated I could not see her, I couldn't touch her, nor talk to her, whether it be through crystal or in person. The Labyrinth forced me to alter her reality, which meant that she would never remember the Underground or myself. I allowed her the chance to have one last moment with her friends, and I watched them all from the tree outside her window that night, realizing I had but minutes left to do the Labyrinth's bidding before everything would change. I'd never get the chance to talk to her again.

As time went on, I tried thinking of every loophole I could in order to bend or break the rules, but the Labyrinth was adamant that I could not interfere or enter Sarah's life again. Not unless she summoned me. This would never happen though, seeing as she would not ever _remember_ me or her time in the Labyrinth. This left me feeling a multitude of different emotions; emotions I had never experienced before in my life. Still, I had a duty and a job to do and I carried on. Albeit, never forgetting about Sarah.

Thinking about last night for the hundredth time, I replayed the entire situation in my head again. Yesterday had been the same as any other day; I went to court, held meetings with my subjects, and sent out invitations for the Fall Festival being held in my kingdom in a month's time. One could imagine my own surprise when I heard my name being spoken by none other than Sarah herself. I didn't dwell on the hard facts right then and there, or try to figure out what was happening and why; I only knew I had to react somehow. I acted fast and formed a crystal. I saw that Sarah was with a friend, confessing that she had been having dreams of…me. _Sarah had been dreaming about me?_ My heart raced from the thought. I tuned in further and was able to find out that she had a mate. Well, former mate, from what I could gather.

My mind turned to the most recent dream of hers that I had weaved myself into and I grew hot, remembering about how wonderful it was to kiss and touch her, dreamscape or not. _Gods how I wanted her. Perhaps I was too aggressive in that unexpected reunion..._

When she woke up from the dream, I couldn't contain my enthusiasm and appeared in her home to have a look around in an attempt get to know this mature Sarah. Walking through the darkness, I heard something under my boot. Looking down, I saw what seemed to be a frame containing a picture. I picked it up and saw that it was a picture of Sarah and some man. _Must be her former mate._ I snarled and stuffed the picture into the nearest box, hoping it would be forgotten. Sarah suddenly appeared, walking to her kitchen, and I froze, stepping back slowly towards the window in the room I was in. I disappeared before she had a chance to turn the lights on.

My thoughts came back to the present, and I frowned knowing I shouldn't cut it that close again. I needed to talk to her, to explain everything. _But how do I do that without driving her to think she's mad? She thinks I've only ever been a figment of her imagination._

I furrowed my brows, reflecting my own question. Firstly, I needed to understand how exactly Sarah was able to recall my name, let alone somehow remember I even existed.

After thinking for what felt like hours, I let out a frustrated sigh, deciding that I would need to have a word with the Labyrinth in order to find out more information. _Surely It has something to do with all of this. That cursed thing._

Throwing the crystal into the air, I stood from my throne decided I needed to clear my mind. I walked to the nearest window and transformed into my owl form, flying above the Labyrinth.

I hadn't expected to end up at her home again, but here I was, perched on a tree branch outside her room. Sarah was on the other side of her apartment still staring down upon the busy commotion below us.

She left the window in her bedroom cracked open, which allowed me entry. I quietly flew to the room Sarah was brooding in, and softly landed on her kitchen table. I sat there for several minutes, taking everything about her in; her slim, yet curvaceous body; her long dark hair; _she had such long, beautiful legs…_ My mind got lost in these thoughts, until I heard her let out a defeated sigh and saw that she rubbed her eyes, which indicated to me that she was done thinking about whatever it was that perturbed her.

I quickly left the scene before I had the chance to realize that a single white feather had been shed in my hasty flight.

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 **SARAH**

I was visibly shaken from seeing the feather in my apartment, and I looked around as if I'd find the culprit flying throughout the place. _Stupid animal, how the heck did a bird get in here?_ Oh wait… the window in my bedroom _was_ open.

I let out an uneasy laugh, feeling silly for overlooking such an obvious fact. _Get a grip Sarah._ I walked over to my kitchen and pulled an apple from the fridge. _That feather did seem rather large though… it almost looked like an owl feather._

Leaning on the counter, I bit into the apple and tried thinking of what I knew about owls. I went over to my laptop to research them, concluding that owls were nocturnal animals, so I'm not sure why it would have flown into my apartment midday. _Maybe it got lost? How odd._ I shrugged, deciding it wasn't worth it to question the oddity of the bird and build up my anxiety again. Deciding to finally go take that nap, I went back to my room and closed the window before any other uninvited animals came in.

Laying in bed, I became utterly restless. _Fuck it. I won't be able to sleep with this much on my mind._ I sat up and thought about those pictures of Paul and I. _Maybe now is a good time to get rid of them._ I grinned devilishly, went back to the living room, and sat in front of the box that Alexa had mentioned.

I began pulling out the pictures within the box, separating the ones of me and my friends or family from the ones that included myself and Paul.

Reaching the bottom, I came across the same graduation picture of us that I found yesterday. _I thought I tossed this one. Alexa must have picked it up off the floor._ I smiled sadly at the picture again, and remembered how in love I was with Paul during that time. My smile faded when I started recalling Paul's behavior and his flaws. Alexa was right- he really _was_ an asshole. I felt ashamed that I had been with someone who didn't end up valuing me. And that said everything about Paul and who he was.

The tears started coming out at this point; not because I missed him in that moment, or wished things could go back to the way they were-I realized now that it wasn't the right relationship-but because I felt so stupid that I gave myself fully to someone who didn't appreciate me. I wanted to be with someone who would fight for me, and would go through every hoop, loop, and barrier to be with me.

Maybe that's why I conjured up my dreams of "Jareth" for so long. It's almost as if I knew Paul wasn't right for me at some deep level within myself. Whereas Jareth, well…he has always been an entity I felt- no, feel- I can run to and who I feel wants me wholly. _Even if he isn't real._ I frowned, wishing that somehow he was. Especially right now. Those dreams always made me feel giddy and alive. But they also made me continuously feel like I was missing something, and that frustrated me to no end.

I wiped my eyes with both hands and threw the ripped up and torn pictures of Paul away. Feeling relieved that I was finally trying to move on from Paul, I attempted another nap. As soon as my head hit the pillow I felt so relaxed. _Hmm, I wish Jareth was here with me right now._

No more than a few minutes later, I felt someone rubbing my back, attempting to comfort me. Opening my eyes and smiling, I turned, knowing he was by my side. I looked into those blue eyes and it was as if all my worries suddenly dissipated. I was happy to know that he seemed equally pleased to be with me too.

"Hello, Precious. Long time no see." He kissed my forehead then, sending chills down my back.

I gave a shy smile, my fingers rubbing along my duvet. I finally felt brave enough this time to say something back.

"You know… you've never said anything to me before. So why now? After all this time."

He smiled down at me, raised his eyebrows up and down, and responded elusively. "Circumstances."

I gave him a puzzled expression, and tilted my head, trying to read him.

"Circumstances? What does that mean? What does any of this mean? This feels so real. More real than it's ever felt and I… I just don't get it. I must be going crazy." I hid my face into my pillow.

Jareth sighed, gently turned my head back towards him, and looked at me apologetically.

"You're most definitely not going crazy, Sarah. I wish I could explain. But I can't. Not right now. I'm sorry."

I tried to not feel disappointed, but I wanted to trust him. I gave him a weak smile.

Letting him know that nothing else mattered in this moment, I did the only thing I could think of: I put my hand on his cheek, and kissed him.

Returning my kiss, Jareth lightly rolled me onto my back, and was on top of me. Our tongues intertwined, and I could feel the pulsating ache at my core once again. While last night's encounter felt hurried and rough, this one was starting out much more gentle and tender. _Gosh, this felt so right. I could lose myself in him forever,_ I thought.

Jareth stopped kissing me suddenly, and looked down at me. It was a look of gratitude and it made me feel so wanted. He pushed back a strand of hair behind my ear, and caressed my face. I got the sad feeling that he was about to leave me, not because he wanted to, but more like he had to. I frowned.

"Please don't leave. I don't want to be alone right now."

He kissed my forehead once again. "I will always be here for you, Sarah. As the world falls down. Sleep now."

With that, he was gone, and I fell into a blissful slumber.

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 **AN: So... totally didn't realize how difficult it was to make sure everything is CONSISTENT within a story, yikes. I had to go back to chapters 1 and 2 to update a few things, just so everything would make sense for later, or simply add a few more words to eliminate confusion/make it more realistic. Being that this is my first story, I'm still trying to figure out the best way to ensure consistency and realism. I appreciate reviews/comments/constructive criticism etc. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: Stillllllll don't own anything and I'm not reaping any profits from this.**

 **JARETH**

It took strong determination to leave the dream; neither of us wanted it to end. But I needed to talk with the Labyrinth and figure out why all of this was happening. _Surely It has an idea as to what is going on._

I flew to the center of the maze and reappeared in my Fae form. Knocking on the door that would lead me to the heart of the Labyrinth, I stepped in after it granted me access.

The crystal I formed hovered and illuminated the way for me as I walked through the darkness of the cold, dank tunnel. After walking for several minutes, I finally reached what I came here for.

There, in the center of my location, was a floating orb. It suddenly turned into a white flame, as if coming to life. Seconds later It began to speak in Its soothing yet haunting voice.

" _Jareth. It has been a long time since you've come to visit with me personally. To what do I owe the… pleasure?_

It enunciated that last word in a sensual way, as if it was toying with me somehow.

I smiled and couldn't help my somewhat sarcastic tone. "I'm afraid I've been preoccupied. Running a kingdom and ruling subjects can do that to oneself. I'm _terribly_ sorry if you feel I've neglected you, old friend. However, my reason for being here revolves around a rather odd situation I find myself in. Would you happen to know what that situation is?"

 _"Nothing quite comes to mind at the moment, your Majesty. Could you be more a bit more specific?"_

The blasted thing was trying to be coy, and I needed answers.

"I think you know why I'm here. Does a, Sarah Williams ring a bell?"

 _"Sarah Williams…hmm…Defeater of the Labyrinth? The girl who ate the peach and forgot about everything? The one who bested you? The one who still holds your heart?_ That _Sarah Williams?"_

I scoffed, getting impatient that It was _indeed_ being coy.

Clenching my teeth, I responded. "Yes… _that_ Sarah Williams. I believe it was you who told me ten years ago that I needed to void out any memories of her time spent here, was it not?"

 _"Hmm…yes, I suppose I do recall something to that effect. I'm curious as to why you're reiterating old news to me."_

"I'm 'reiterating' as you put it, because it would seem that our Champion has somehow been able to remember remnants of her time spent in the Underground, despite your orders."

The Labyrinth said nothing, giving me the indication that It knew what was going on. I continued speaking.

"Apparently… Sarah has been having… _dreams_ , of this place. Dreams in which I'm included in. Dreams in which she… seems to vaguely know who I am."

The flame began to shake a little, as if It was shivering.

 _"Really…is that so? How peculiar."_

I rolled my eyes, growing tired of this.

"I know you know what is happening, so stop with the act, and explain. How does she remember, even a little? How is this all possible?"

 _"Jareth…Jareth, Jareth, Jareth. You're a smart and intuitive king. Smarter than your predecessors and most Fae. Haven't you the faintest of clues?"_

I was mildly surprised that It had actually stopped playing stupid, and I started circling the flame.

"I suppose I have one theory. My inward thoughts have led me to believe that our dear Sarah was granted some form of magic. Magic that allowed her to retain but a speck of her time here and counteract my own spell. Who could have given such her abilities, I wonder."

I stopped walking, staring at the flame that still danced in front of me.

 _"If you are indicating that I have gone behind your back and given the girl power of some sort myself, you are sorely mistaken, as I would do no such thing. Perhaps it would do you good to go back further into your thoughts, and reflect on yourself."_

I crumpled my eyebrows, trying to understand what It could have been implying.

"If you honestly think I'd be daft enough to give a mortal girl certain pow…"

I stopped my sentence before I could finish, for I knew what I had done and the repercussions it had.

 _ **But what no one knew, was that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl. And he had given her certain powers.** _

_"Ahh, do you remember now, my King? I will not negate the fact that I had no knowledge of what has been transpiring within Sarah Williams for the last decade. **I** can still sense her after all. But it was you, who gave her that silly red leather book, and wrote out the words yourself to bring her to you. You probably were not thinking she'd ever really use them **against** you. Love is such a splendid thing, is it not? It can make even the strongest ones…the weakest." _

I dropped my eyes to the floor, remembering. I _had_ given Sarah that book and written those confounded words in it. I had grown accustomed to watching her recite plays in the park, and grew fascinated with her; she believed in so much. Wanting to make her happy after her friend moved and the birth of Toby, I gave her the book as a gift, hoping it could spur some inspiration within her once again. And grant us the opportunity to meet. But even though I created that nuisance out of love, I _didn't_ quite expect Sarah to use those blasted words against me in the end.

 _"Oh, Jareth. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You come here demanding answers from me, when they've been in front of you the whole time. You should be joyous, Jareth. Our Champion is finally back within our grasps."_

I stared back up at the flame, becoming angry, and refusing to believe this was my fault entirely.

"Joyous?! How can I be joyous? Sarah has been dreaming about me for years now, you knew about it, yet I haven't been able to do a damn thing about it because of **you.** You made me get rid of her memories, you are the reason she couldn't ever fully remember me, she still can't, and it's because of **you** that I wasn't able to go near her in any form for an entire decade!"

The flame turned red and increased in size after my outburst. I shielded myself with my arm, as if that would somehow protect me.

 _"DO NOT TALK TO ME AS IF I AM THE REASON FOR YOUR 'LONG LOST LOVE' BEING OUT OF REACH, JARETH!"_

Simmering down, the flame returned to normal. Several minutes passed before the Labyrinth spoke again. It sighed.

 _"Jareth…There are certain rules and boundaries that we had to abide by, stemmed by none other than_ you. _The power you granted Sarah Williams was unfortunately out of my reach; I could do nothing to change it. I had you take away her memories because there was no choice. As it stood at the time, you could not live within her. Not unless she wanted it for herself. Unfortunately for Sarah Williams, she was oblivious to this fact. I'm sure she would have chosen to keep her memories of you and everyone else had she known what you did, and what her words would mean."_

My nostrils flared, and I scoffed at what I was being told. "It isn't fair." I wasn't one to ever act like a petulant child, but I could think of nothing else to say.

 _"You only have yourself to blame. Had you not been so blinded by your love for the girl, you wouldn't have ever lost whatever influence you could have had on her, or granted her the ability she possesses. Words have power, Jareth. Come now, you know this. You should feel grateful though that you provided her with a small loophole in your own act of ignorance. They may be only dreams, but she has been unconsciously fighting for you too. She cares about you. She just doesn't realize it yet."_

I contemplated the Labyrinth's words and felt a throng of different emotions inside of me; anger, confusion, self-loathing, relief, happiness, hope…

 _"It will do you no good at this point to be angry with yourself, Jareth. As I said, be happy that there has been a way for Sarah to hold onto a piece of you. I know you've been weaving yourself in her dreams recently; perhaps this will further entice her will to remember you and everything else entirely. Just stay patient for a little while longer. I must go now. Good luck, your Majesty."_

I mulled over everything I had just been told; it was a lot to take in and I was still angry. Mostly at myself. The flame started flickering out, which was my cue to leave. The Labyrinth had only so much energy to exert.

I left the tunnel thinking about where I should go from here regarding Sarah. The Labyrinth was right… I needed to be patient. For now I would have to wait for a sign from Sarah, indicating that she was willing to face her dreams and their meaning. I felt sure that she would call upon me soon.

It was just a matter of how long, and when.

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 **AN: Sorry this chapter was rather short! I wanted to tryyy and build the anticipation and leave things a little ambiguous. This will probably be the last time that the story is told from Jareth's perspective, at least for a while, because I plan to make them meet soon and it isn't totally necessary to have two people recounting the events at that point. Sarah is the main character so I want it told mostly from her perspective. Next chapter will be longer and will focus mainly on Sarah. Dream researching, psychic readings, oh my!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**SARAH**

The blinding light of the morning sun woke me up. I peeked one eye open, afraid to open the other one as I was not ready to be accosted by the brightness. Grumbling, I turned over in my bed away from the sunlight and grabbed my cell phone off my nightstand and saw that it was 7:32 AM. _Holy shit, I slept for like 14 hours. That has to be a record._ I threw my cell phone back down, ignoring the unread texts, notifications from social media, and missed calls from my mom.

Rubbing my eyes, I decided I needed to get up and get the day started. How I slept for so long, I have no idea, but I felt incredibly well rested and better than I had in, well… weeks. _Getting rid of those pictures of Paul must have helped. Not to mention that amazing dream I had._ Speaking of dreams…

I sat up in bed and thought about the recent developments mine had taken. Bringing my fingers to my lips, I remembered last night's brief, but satisfying dream. _I wonder why it was so tender this time.._. Not that I was complaining; I liked it rough, but sweet and soft was nice too.

I couldn't help but smile. I got out of bed feeling elated and decided to go for a run in Central Park. New York City during August tended to be extremely humid, but it was early enough to beat the humidity and it was gorgeous outside at this time of day. Plus I could use the fresh air.

I ran six miles in nearly an hour, feeling even better than I had when I woke up. _Nothing like endorphins to start off the day!_

A few hours later, after eating breakfast and catching up on social media, e-mails, and texts, I showered and decided I wanted to get dressed up today. I ended up choosing a v-neckline floral printed mini dress in an off-the-shoulder style and paired it with some gold strappy sandals. I kept my makeup dewy and natural, and put my hair up into a messy bun. Feeling satisfied with my reflection in the mirror, I felt like my old self, and set my sights on going to the bookstore and doing a little retail therapy.

I stepped outside and put my sunglasses on. Walking the streets of New York City always gave me a rush- the people, the buildings, the endless amounts of restaurants and different stores… I could never get bored here.

I made it to my first destination about fifteen minutes later- Undercover Books and More. Looking around the store, I thought about what kind of book I wanted to possibly buy today. My eyes landed on the Psychology section and I immediately headed that way, thinking that I could get some information regarding my dreams. After pouring through several books, I came across The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud. I sat down on the floor and began glimpsing through the pages.

What I learned from my brief read was that we had three levels of the mind: consciousness, which comprises of those thoughts that are the focus of our attention in the present; the precociousness, which consists of all thoughts which can be retrieved from memory; and the most significant region- the unconscious. _Hmm, the unconscious._

I kept reading; _"The unconscious mind acts as a storehouse of sorts, or a cauldron, of primitive wishes. Dreams are what we can call wish fulfillment's- attempts by our unconscious to resolve a conflict of some kind, whether it's a more recent conflict or something from the past."_

How interesting.

 _"The process by which underlying wishes are translated into palpable content is called dream-work. The main purpose of dream work is to transform said wishes into a non-threatening form, helping us reduce anxiety and allowing us to want to continue sleeping so we can continue our dreams. Dream work involves the process of displacement and secondary elaboration._

 _Displacement takes place when we transform the person or object we are really concerned about to someone or something else. We can do this in a multitude of ways, such as taking our anger out on some other entity or indulging our fantasies and love life through someone else. Secondary elaboration occurs when the unconscious puts together these wish-fulfilling images in a logical order of events. This is why the manifest content of dreams can be quite believable."_

I rubbed my hand along my forehead, feeling overwhelmed already by all this snippet of information. _I feel like all this is all good information, but how does it relate to me and my dreams?  
_

"Ugh, I give up." I said out loud.

I put the book back and left the store empty handed. Feeling ready to spend some hard earned dollars, I made my way to Barney's and Saks Fifth Avenue to splurge on myself.

Several hundred dollars later, I was making my way back to my apartment when I stumbled upon a shop called Psychic Eye Readings. I stopped outside the storefront and tried peering inside, but it was too dark. _Why the fuck not._

I walked inside and looked around me. Inside the store, I couldn't decide if it looked more like a wannabe porn shop with its neon signs, beaded curtains, and bright colors everywhere, or if it was actually trying to be a spiritual store with its many options of incense, herbs, candles, Buddha sculptures, and glass cases filled with even more eastern Asian sculptures and replicas. _Damn, this is a lot of random stuff._

"Can I help you?"

I jumped and turned around to face the person who scared the living shit out of me.

"Jesus! You scared me." I came face to face with an older looking woman; I took in her outfit and saw that she had on a purple paisley tunic over black silk pants, chunky sandals, and wore purple glasses accompanied with an eyeglass chain.

She laughed. "I'm sorry. You aren't the first one to say that, I have a tendency to creep up on people I suppose. Can I help you find anything today?"

I looked around again, wondering what the hell everything in here was.

"Um, well I've never been in a 'psychic shop' before so I'm not sure what all this is..."

"Ohh, a first timer huh? My favorite type of customer. Come on I'll show you around."

I followed mystery woman around the store. She stopped walking and turned to me as soon as she brought me over to a table filled with beaded pouches, crystals, and other knickknacks. "So, what's your name?"

"Oh, uh, Sarah. Yours?"

She smiled in appreciation. "My name is Angel. So tell me Sarah, what brings you in today?"

"I was just passing by and thought it seemed…interesting."

She chuckled; "Yes, well we have a variety of 'interesting' things in here. Tarot and divination cards, spirituality and kama sutra books, medicinal oils, talismans, recipes for creating your own incense…the works. But it depends on what interests you."

I wrinkled my eyebrows and looked at everything in wonderment. _I have no idea what interests me, I know nothing about this stuff._ My mind settled on tarot cards since it sounded the most familiar.

"What exactly are tarot cards? I mean I've heard of them before, but I don't know much about them or how they work."

"Tarot? Tarot is very simple; it's basically a deck comprised of seventy-eight cards, each of which has a specific meaning relating to a particular concept of life, or experience. In a reading, I'd shuffle and lay out the cards for you, and by your own choosing, you choose twelve cards which embody the twelve houses of astrology. These houses are symbolic of all the different departments that represent and make up one's life, for instance the recent past, what your future could entail, or any current dilemmas. I then would look at how the meaning of a card corresponds to your current state of life. Or future, possibly."

 _What a load of..._ "I see…do you, um… do you do tarot card readings here?"

"Absolutely. Would you be interested in having one done?"

 _Not really._ "How much is it?"

"It is twenty dollars for fifteen minutes, thirty for thirty minutes, and forty-five for forty-five minutes."

I thought about whether or not I really wanted to spend money on a pack of cards telling me about my life, the thought leaving me skeptical.

Angel stared at me inquisitively, waiting for an answer.

"I guess I'll do the thirty-minute session." I didn't want to be rude. Plus... how bad can it be?

"Wonderful. Follow me."

Angel led me through a nearby curtain of beads into a smaller room which had a table and a chair on each side of it. I sat down across from her and she pulled out a fancy deck of blue cards.

"Now Sarah, I will be sharing this guidance of self-discovery with you as the cards are being read. The energy that comes along with the readings will primarily be coming through from your inner being or soul. In order to help you see how you're evolving as far as your life process goes, I'll need your maximum potential, which means I'll ask you to let go of control, negative energy, and rid yourself of doubts or worries. Inner dialogue is welcomed at any time. We'll begin with a small prayer. Please close your eyes."

I did as I was told and tried to relax, focusing solely on Angel's voice as she started off with a brief spiritual-like prayer. I reopened my eyes and watched her shuffle the cards. She asked me to cut the cards into three piles with my left hand, as that hand is closer to my heart and the cards would need a bit of my own energy infused in them. I did this, and she lay the cards spread out in front of me.

"Now Sarah, I ask that you choose twelve cards that stand out to you. Take your time. You will be attracted to the ones influenced by your own energy."

I held back a grin, thinking how ridiculous this all was but did what Angel told me to.

Once my twelve cards were chosen and face down, she began my reading.

"We'll begin with the first house- the house of 'self.'"

She flipped the card over; it had a black border and read 'truth.'

"This is a major arcana card, Sarah. Major arcana cards chart the soul's journey through life, or the big, important themes that help us evolve; they are telling us that we are dealing with something big that spreads its influence among us or in others. Now, you have the 'truth' card which tells me that you are searching for 'truth' or 'justice' in some aspect of your life. This doesn't necessarily mean someone is lying to you per se, but more so that something is being kept from you and you wish to know what it is."

 _Okay… so far so weird._

She went through houses two through six which caused mild reactions from me and came up on the seventh house- house of relationships.

"Five of cups. The Five of Cups usually signifies difficulty, loss, and the challenges of dealing with that loss. But this card was in reverse, so we must look at it from the opposite of its original meaning. The reversed Five of Cups shows recovery from regret and an acceptance of the past. You are beginning to realize the full implications of the past and you have come to appreciate the lessons learned from a certain experience. You may even recognize the value of the painful experience. If you have suffered a broken heart recently, the reversed Five of Cups signifies an end to the suffering, and a beginning to new loves and relationships, new interests, and new emotional outlets."

I cringed at the accuracy of that card, and thought about Paul and my epiphany from yesterday that he pretty much sucked. _Alright, that one was spot on too…_

Angel continued. "Now, the ninth house often acts as counterpart to the eighth house. Let's see what we have."

She flipped the card.

"Another water card. This time, Ace of Cups. This is a symbol of fulfillment, not just emotionally but also spiritually. The opportunity for fulfillment is right there in front of you, but will you take it? Whether or not you are going to take on this opportunity depends on how much you trust your intuition, because this card represents the beginning of a new love, which will bring you long lasting happiness. This new love is the kind where you feel butterflies in your stomach, and feel as though you have a special connection with the person who is stealing your heart. Open your heart to this opportunity."

I swallowed hard and began to feel a little uneasy.

Angel went through the next two houses and finally- I was on my last house.

"The High Priestess. She generally appears when you need to listen to and trust your inner voice. This card represents a link to your subconscious, which cannot be accessed through the everyday world but only through dreams, which requires you to pay attention to them and your intuition. Your intuitive sense right now is trying to provide you with useful and helpful information so that you may become more in touch with your subconscious mind. Your intuition can also point to the unknown and can indicate that your life is about to change in a huge way. Things that once seemed certain can no longer be taken for granted. Some puzzling and maybe even unnerving mysteries are becoming clearer, but all is not yet revealed at this point. It can be if you just trust your inner voice."

This one caused me to furrow my brows and sent shivers down my spine. _You can't take anything for granted.._. The timer suddenly went off causing me to jump out of my seat and brought me back to the present.

"So Sarah, how do you feel? Does any of this seem accurate to your current situation in life? Are there any questions you'd like to ask the cards?"

 _Yeah I have a million questions._ "Um. Yeah, a few seemed pretty accurate actually. I suppose there is one question I have…"

"Of course. Let me reshuffle and we'll get your question answered. You'll get two cards this time."

I watched Angel reshuffle once again and she asked me to go ahead and state my question.

I took a deep breath. _I can't believe I'm about to ask a stranger and her psychic cards to help decipher the meaning of my dreams_.

"You mentioned something about paying attention to my dreams and intuition. Well...for the last…seven years or so, ever since I started dating my now ex, I've been having pretty vivid dreams about this guy. We're in some... different place or world, and while the setting changes every now and then, I've mostly dreamed about us dancing together in a ballroom. For the longest time I just assumed he was a made up person I'd conjured from having read so many romance fantasy novels, and my best friend even thinks so. However… now, I'm not so sure. Just in the span of two days my dreams have seemed…different, and have left me feeling confused, lost, and anxious. It's almost as if I _really_ know this guy from somewhere, I mean I even have a name for him. I just can't help but feel as though these dreams mean something." I let out a nervous laugh. "I guess my question is… what do the dreams mean? What is the significance of them?"

I oddly felt relieved after saying all of that. Lord knows I've been keeping that to myself ever since the dreams started, as I didn't want people thinking I was going crazy or anything. I also didn't want to mention the fact that ever since I said his name out loud, that's when things really started to get strange. I could only talk crazy for so long.

Angel stared at me and contemplated my question, as if it was a bit too convoluted.

"Hmm… let's see what the cards have to say in regards to your question, Sarah."

I picked one of my final cards. When Angel turned it over I saw what looked like Adam and Eve on the front.

"The Lovers. This represents choices to be made on a grand scale. A dilemma concerning someone has been presented to you, demanding an action or decision. When the Lovers card appears, it is important to think about what decisions and choices you are currently facing. Something that may look scary or alarming on the surface will later prove to be a blessing. The fact that this card is a major arcana card indicates that these decisions or choices you are to make are incredibly important and significant, so it is essential that go about handling this decision in a direct way. You must be completely honest with yourself and you shouldn't look at things at face value, for everything is not what it seems."

She flipped the very last card. Wheel of Fortune.

"The Wheel of Fortune is about being optimistic and having faith that the Universe will take care of the situation you find yourself in. This is also considered to be a lucky time in your life when you are sensing the action of fate and destiny, both of which seem to be working in your favor. You may even be witnessing miracles or a very fortunate series of events. This card speaks of a pivotal point in your life; change is not only likely to happen, it is _certain_ to happen, and soon. These changes are distinctly personal and may require making a first step on a new and unfamiliar path. You may also need to alter the course you're currently on or move things along in a different direction to ensure that you eventually meet your destiny."

At this point I was my shaking my right leg in a fidgety way and I was biting my fingernail trying to process how exactly those cards answered my question. I gave Angel a look, pleading her to explain in English. She seemed to take the cue.

"To answer your question in simple terms Sarah, these cards seem to tell me that one- your dreams are indicating you are missing what we call our other half, or soul mate; and two- based on the wheel of fortune card, I'd say that change is it on its way and you are to meet this person soon, you just need to change how you perceive things. You said you don't know the man in your dreams at all?"

Angel looked at me with absolutely no judgement, as if she heard this kind of thing all the time. I shook my head and she grabbed my hand.

"Sarah, often times our dreams just act as a portal to another world or dimension. Being that I immerse myself into these kinds of things, I for one believe that you truly do know this man from somewhere, just not from this realm. Possibly from a past life, or an alternate universe so to speak."

I slightly shook my head in confusion and gave a condescending smile. "What, are you saying reincarnation and astral projection are real or something? I don't know if I believe in all that, it's a little farfetched, even for me."

Angel continued to look at me with patience and understanding.

"The best thing I can recommend Sarah, is that you follow what the cards have read. You are clearly seeking truth. There are some things in life that aren't always explainable, or seem possible. You must trust your intuition. If something is urging you to act, then do it. Open yourself up to the possibilities in life, even the ones that seem crazy. If your gut feeling is telling you these dreams mean something, then confront the entity within your dream. I think you might find relief in doing so. I can sense that you have a strong will, Sarah. Put that will to use. I'm terribly sorry to do this, but I have an appointment in a few minutes. Here's my card, if you ever want to talk."

I took the card from Angel, mulling over everything we had talked about in the last 40 minutes.

"Thank you so much, for everything. Truly. This is has been an eye opening experience and I have a lot to think about."

We both got up and Angel gave me a hug. "Good luck, Sarah. I know good things are headed your way. Remember to stay open minded and trust yourself."

I gave her a smile, paid, and left the shop. I walked back home, thinking about everything she had told me.

 _Open myself up to the possibilities… how do I do that?_ She actually seemed to believe me and didn't take me as a schizophrenic weirdo. And what is this whole thing about my dreams indicating my soul mate and meeting him soon?

 _Everything is not what it seems._

I sighed in annoyance and continued my trek home.

~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS

 **AN: Soooo, I know I JUST posted chapter 4 two days ago, but I wrote ch. 4 and 5 this past weekend so I figured I might as well post it today. I know there are some people who really study tarot and whatnot, so I hope what I wrote doesn't offend anyone by coming across as inaccurate. In order to have a sense of what I was even writing, I actually went to a psychic shop had a tarot reading done myself on Saturday, so this is inspired by my own personal experience. I bought a pack of tarot cards too, wanting to fully understand the meanings of some of them and studied the information from Biddy Tarot. It turned out to be a pretty cool experience; I found it very enlightening. Next chapter has some yummy smut in it! I'm almost done with it but I wanna make sure it's perfect, so I'm holding off on posting it for now. Reviews really are addicting. So, please review! I want to know how people are liking this, aren't liking it...etc. Thanks, guys!**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: Still own nothing from Labyrinth. Also, this chapter has smut in it. I can't tell you how many erotic books I've read in my life so I hope all my past years of reading have helped me now. ENJOY!**

 **SARAH**

As soon as I got home I put all my bags down and started dinner. I decided on broiling chicken, with a salad and couscous on the side. While everything was cooking I went to my room to change into comfier clothes.

Around 8 pm, I was watching The Lost Boys on T.V., and felt incredibly exhausted from the long day and dreaded the thought of having to go into work tomorrow. I soon felt myself drifting off, my thoughts turning to my psychic reading and what Angel had said.

 _"The opportunity for fulfillment is right there in front of you, but will you take it?"_

What's right in front of me? _Uggh, this is so frustrating! The only thing I wish was in front of me right now was Jareth._

"Ask, and you shall receive."

I heard the seductive voice from nearby and realized that I must have been dreaming. I had to be, because I wasn't in Kansas anymore, folks. Instead, I found myself in the same forest landscape that I was in the other night, wearing the same dress.

I turned towards the voice and saw Jareth leaning against a tree, smiling. We started walking towards each other and met somewhere in the middle. We stared at one another for a few seconds until I spoke first.

"How is it… that you seem to show up right away when I think about you lately? There were times before when I would but...you wouldn't always be there. Three times in a row seems a little coincidental." I gave him a shy smile.

His lips curved upwards and before he could say anything I spoke again.

"Let me guess: circumstances?" I sighed feeling impatient. "Jareth… I need to understand what's going on. I know this seems like only a dream, and maybe it is and I _am_ going crazy, but something is telling me otherwise. And a friend recently told me I should listen to my intuition. My intuition is telling me that you being here with me means you're something significant to my life somehow. Before, this whole situation just seemed like a fantasy and I didn't put too much thought into it, but now… everything has changed in such little time. Ever since I said your name."

I looked up at him indicating I wanted to know why that was without having to actually ask. He cupped my cheek with one of his gloved hands, and I leaned into it. He looked so vulnerable right now.

"Sarah… you must understand. There are things I want to tell you, but. I find myself afraid to do so."

I took his gloved hand into mine, trying to reassure him. "Afraid? Afraid, why?"

"I'm afraid that… you'll want nothing to do with me anymore if I told you what all of this meant."

I pursed my lips and looked away, hoping I didn't look too disappointed.

"I don't think that would happen. My brain is trying to tell me this is silly and impossible, but my heart is saying the opposite." I gulped, not feeling totally prepared to hear the answer to my next question. "Are… are you…is this real?" I needed to hear it from him. Too long have I been kept in the dark all these years, it was time I face what was in front of me.

Jareth stared at me and breathed heavily. He pulled and turned away from me as if he was sincerely worried that I would hate him somehow. I wasn't going to let him leave so easily.

"Hey…" I reached out for him again. "Please don't walk away from me…I'm just trying to understand this."

He turned to face me again.

"Do you believe in me, Sarah?"

I was taken back by Jareth's sudden question and the aggressive tone in which he asked it.

"What? What do you mean, 'do I believe in you'?"

"Don't put too much thought into this, Sarah. Here, in your mind, you've already dropped all your defenses and succumbed to me. Now you are here with me; no second thoughts. Forget about everything you think know; the outside world, the people who would doubt you, anyone who wouldn't believe you. I told you last night that you aren't crazy, and I meant it. So I need to know… _Do. You. Believe in me?"_

I stared at Jareth feeling a little nervous about his current behavior. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at the ground. Do I believe in Jareth enough to not question it at all? To believe that this whole thing is truly real and not care that people could think I was nuts? I suddenly thought back to my reading with Angel and how she encouraged me to open myself up to all possibilities.

 _Things that once seemed certain can no longer be taken for granted._

 _Something that may look scary or alarming on the surface will later prove to be a blessing._

 _You may need to alter the course you're currently on or move things along in a different direction to ensure that you eventually meet your destiny._

In that moment I knew what my answer would be. There was no going back now; I decided. I looked up to Jareth and saw that he was anxiously waiting for my answer.

"Yes, Jareth. I believe in you."

A flood of relief passed over Jareth's face, and before I knew what was happening, he lifted his hands to my face and kissed me softly. He then pushed his tongue between my lips, and I met his tongue with mine. I pressed my palms into his shirt and one heated kiss turned into another. Jareth grabbed me by the butt and lifted me up so he could lay me down himself on the ground beneath us. He sat up for a brief second and straddled my body so he could take off his gloves. He then began kissing my neck, and ever so slyly started pulling down the straps of my dress.

My breasts were suddenly exposed, nipples erect, and I felt shy in that moment. I covered my chest with my hands as a means to shield myself.

I abandoned all thought when Jareth took my hands off my chest, brought them to his mouth, and kissed them.

"Don't cover yourself up, Sarah. I don't want there to be any barriers between us anymore."

I nodded and let him proceed; there was no use resisting and I let the dream descend. He continued his actions and pulled off the rest of my dress, leaving me completely naked.

"You are so beautiful."

He kissed me again and moved his hands down my body, giving me goosebumps. I knew I was incredibly wet; I could feel the dampness pool in the center between my legs.

His mouth was on one of my breasts then, sucking my nipple. Fire blazed from the tip of my nipple down to my crotch, and I moaned. He moved to my other breast, mimicking his actions from a few seconds ago. As his mouth ravished my breasts, I took my hand and started rubbing his cock through his breeches, causing him to groan. I could feel that he was rock hard, and I smiled knowing I had such an effect on him.

Jareth started kissing down my stomach while he still kneaded my breasts with his hands, squeezing and stroking them. I suddenly felt his fingers from his left hand stroke my slit. Jareth sucked in a breath when he felt how soaked I was and leaned forward. I felt his mouth cover me as he kissed in between my legs, and licked leisurely up my center, never taking his eyes off mine. His fingers slid inside of me and I arched my back. His tongue found my clit as his fingers continued to pulse inside me. I was moaning loudly now, and an incredible heat built within me; _God, I want him inside of me._ Pleasure built in an overwhelming barrage of heat and I knew I was going to fall over the edge soon.

"Unh! Jareth."

He continued to fuck me with his fingers; "That's right, Sarah. Say my name."

"Jareth!"

"Do you want me Sarah?"

"Yesyesyes!"

"You know what you have to say, Sarah."

His fingers hit that damn soft spot inside me, causing me to wail out.

"Say it Sarah. What is it you want?"

"I want you."

"Where, Sarah?"

The way he asked me this question reminded me that we were still in my dream, and I wanted more. Much, much more. _Fuck, I wish this was real._

Realization dawned on me then, and I knew what I had to say.

"I wish… ughh." His fingers inside me kept me from saying the words.

"Fuck. I wish… I wish this was real and I wish you'd take me right now."

Jareth growled and I felt a cold feeling come over me, as if a gust of wind was taking over my entire body.

I suddenly woke up and saw Jareth in the flesh hovering over me. _What…the…shit...that actually worked? He is...real? I must be dreaming still._

Before I even had a chance to decipher whether or not this was actually happening or say anything in protest, Jareth attacked my mouth again and I completely forgot about my worries. My entire body responded to his touch and I was on autopilot, past all thought of wrong or right and well past the point of no return.

He discarded my clothing, leaving me naked once again. As he was kissing down my neck, I started unbuttoning his breeches, and freed his bulging cock. _Holy shit, he's so big._

He moaned into my mouth, and I stroked him, feeling him get harder and harder with each second. Jareth managed to take off his boots and discard the remainder of his breeches, leaving him naked from the waist down.

He pulled me onto his lap then so I was straddling him, his mouth hungrily exploring mine. I slid myself up and down his shaft, drenching him in my fluids.

He let out a growl. "Sarah. I need you. Now." He positioned the head of his member at my entrance and I plunged down on him, both of us crying out.

I'd never done anything so animalistic in my life. But that's what I felt like right now- an animal, out of control, reckless with heat. I'd also never been with anyone so large before, and the fullness was almost overwhelming. I clung to Jareth's shoulders; he was massive and stretched me out, but he filled me as no other cock had. I wrapped my legs around him while still clinging to his shoulders and I started to move and gyrate my hips on his dick. I leaned back, and really started to ride him, as he focused his attention on my clit. I pushed him back to the couch, leaned over him, and allowed him to take one of my breasts in his mouth. My whole body felt on fire, the flames consuming us.

Jareth gripped my hips and started plunging himself up into me. He became relentless with his movements and thrust into my vaginal walls fast and hard. I cried out as my senses exploded in an eruption of bliss.

I had but two seconds to come back down to earth before Jareth suddenly flipped me over so I was laying on my back. He thrust back into me, impaling me with his erection and I moaned out loud. He thrust deeper and faster, and I grabbed onto his butt, forcing him to drive into me even harder. "Come for me, Jareth. Come inside me."

"Gods, Sarah."

Jareth continued to pound into me, riding out the wave of his own orgasm, filling me up. I felt his body relax as he was still on top of me, trying to calm down.

We stayed like this for a few minutes, both of us panting. I felt Jareth begin to move, and he lifted his head to face me.

When I saw his face I came back to reality and suddenly felt a flood of different feelings flow through me- confusion, mistrust, bewilderment… I mostly felt panic and I started shaking.

I pushed Jareth off of me, sat up, and started putting on my clothes as I fast I could. _I've completely lost my mind. What is happening!_

"Sarah, wait… stop."

I ignored Jareth as if his words didn't even register with me and finished putting my clothes on.

"Sarah… please."

I fought back tears and turned to face him. He was fastening his breeches and looked at me pleadingly.

"I know this must all seem rather…alarming and strange, for lack of a better term. But I can explain everything."

I laughed and the tears poured out. "Strange? Strange doesn't even begin to cover all of this. Just how in the hell are you really here with me right now? Or have I really lost it?"

"Sarah, I can assure you that this is most real. I hadn't expected anything to come to fruition for some time, but somewhere within yourself you were, and are ready to face the truth."

"Truth? What truth? Who or what are you, really? And how is all of this even possible?"

Jareth took a deep breath, readying himself to tell me everything I needed to know.

"You know who I am, Sarah. We met ten years ago. When you wished Toby away to me."

~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS ~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS

 **AN: DUN DUN DUN! Can anyone guess what song from which movie was in the inspiration for a lot of this sequence? :D PLEEEEASE Review! Next chapter will feature a main character I mentioned at the end of Ch. 1. So stay tuned...  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**TWO STORY UPDATES IN ONE DAY, WHAAAAT? I've had this chapter done for about a week now, figured I'd post it. Because I'm impatient. And because I hope people like this story... I know it probably seems like things are happening at a rapid pace between S+J but I could only draw out Sarah's dreams and feelings for so long. And because I hadn't expected to go more than 10 chapters with this story, but that won't happen now. It's my first major FF and I'm still trying to learn and figure out how best to do a build up and what not. Valentine's Fae is much easier to write haha. Anyway, here is ch. 7!**

 **SARAH**

I stared at Jareth in utter disbelief, still not quite being able to grasp the situation. _I'm going to puke. Or faint. I'm gonna puke then I'm going to faint._ Before I could ask Jareth what the hell he meant by his comment regarding Toby, there was a knock on my door.

 _Fuck, this cannot be happening. It's 9:30 PM on a Sunday night!_

Jareth and I stared at the door hoping whoever was behind it would just leave, but the knocking continued and a muffled voice came from the other side.

"Saruhhh… I know you're home. I heard voiches a sec ago… please answer the dur, hon."

 _Is that… is that Paul?_ "Oh. My. God." I couldn't believe this.

I forgot Jareth was right next to me for a split second until he started talking, his voice laced with ridicule.

"Is that your dear former mate, Sarah? I would so very much like to meet him."

I glared at Jareth, wondering just how in the hell he knew about Paul and reminded myself to ask him about _that_ on top of the million other questions I had.

The door continued to be banged and Paul was still slurring on the other side of it.

"Sar…baby. Pleashe open up. We need to talk."

I let out an exasperated scoff and went over to the door to let the bastard in, putting my nervous breakdown aside for a few minutes to get rid of Asshat. As soon as I opened the door, Paul came crashing to the floor, as if he hadn't expected the door to open. He looked completely inebriated and disheveled. I knelt on the floor next to him.

"What are you _doing_ here? And how did you find out where I lived?"

Paul looked up to me and smiled. "Hi, baby. Look at how perty you look. I've reeeaallyyy mished you." His eyes were glossy and bloodshot and he reeked of boozed, but he continued to ramble on. "I fucked up...baaaaad."

I rolled my eyes at the bafoon. "Yeah, you did. But now isn't a good time to talk about this, if ever. You're drunk, Paul. Go home."

He let out a moan of sorts and attempted to stand up but had a hard time, so I helped him in order to get his ass to leave quicker. He was finally able to stand somewhat straight and had a dumb expression on his face. I didn't know whether to laugh or be angry. I decided on the latter, especially when he started talking again.

"Saruh, please give me 'nother chance. I love you…soooo much." Paul tried cupping my cheeks with both hands but I turned my head away from him slapped his hands away, becoming pissed.

"Paul, stop! You have to go. It's late, I don't want to see you, and I have work tomorrow!"

He clearly didn't get the message. Instead of leaving like I so politely demanded, he groaned and pushed past me into my apartment, only stopping when he saw Jareth still standing in my living room. I followed Paul in and stood in front of him, my back to Jareth to ward off my ex from doing anything dumb. Being that Paul was incredibly drunk, he could hardly focus on anything but I saw him try to widen his eyes to adjust his sight to the stranger he saw.

"Who…who are you? You fuckin my girl? Huh?" Paul tried moving around me to get to Jareth, but I put my hands on his chest trying to avoid what was coming. "Who's this asshole, Sar?"

I couldn't think of what to say and before I could muster up anything, Jareth spoke. My ears twitched as I heard his voice from behind me.

"You must be Sarah's ex-lover. Paul, is it? Charmed, I'm sure. As much as Sarah would love for you to keep us company on this lovely Sunday evening, I think it's best you be off."

I slowly turned around to see Jareth still standing in the same spot, arms folded, and I wondered how he could be acting so calm and collected. I also wanted to punch that beautiful face for having the audacity to assume I wanted Paul gone. I mean, I did of course. But it wasn't his place to say that. _First my dream comes to life and proves to be totally obnoxious, and now my even more obnoxious drunk ex-boyfriend is here. Could this night get any weirder?_

Paul bumped into me, ridding me of my thoughts, and moved around in an attempt to get closer to Jareth, albeit rather clumsily as the idiot was still drunk.

"And just who are you, Tinkerbell?" Paul demanded to know.

I groaned and put my face in my hands, wanting to be anywhere but here, especially when I heard Jareth respond.

"I'm not sure who this… 'Tinkerbell' is that you have me confused with, but I can assure you, I am not someone you want to trifle with. Let that be a warning before you do something rash, _boy_."

Paul took another awkward step towards Jareth and pointed his finger at him; "Boy? I'm a man dude, and you're…a grandpa. Who wears weird clothes."

The corner of Jareth's eyes wrinkled as he smirked, as if testing Paul. His intimidation must have done something because Paul lowered his finger and took a half step back. I realized I should probably step in just as Jareth was about to say something else.

"Guys, calm down. Paul, this is Jareth. Jareth, this is…Paul. Not that I owe you any explanation Paul, but Jareth is just a friend visiting from out of town, isn't that right _Jareth?"_ I finished the end of my sentence with clenched teeth, hoping he'd get the picture.

Jareth looked down at me and smiled. "Yes, just visiting. Indefinitely."

If looks could kill, Jareth would be dead because I had given him a look of pure rage. Paul suddenly grabbed my arm, a little harder than he probably meant to, and looked me in the eyes. "Sarah, pleasche tell me you aren't seeing this…psycho." He looked to Jareth and snickered. "Wassup with your hair and clothes anyway, man?"

Paul started giggling. Literally giggling. It was time he left for I had had enough.

"Okayyyy! Look, Paul, I _really_ need you to leave now. Kay? We can talk about this later." _Not._

I tried shoving Paul out of my apartment, but he kept giggling over his comment about Jareth's hair and clothes, and was putting all his weight on me from his drunken stupor. _I hate my life right now._ My attempts to get Paul out of my place were failing and I needed help, but I refused to ask Jareth. That quickly changed when Paul tried turning around to do god knows what and tripped, causing me to fall flat on my back with him on top of me. He was so god damn heavy, I struggled to get him off.

"You, fucking…moron!" I tried wriggling out from underneath Paul, who at this point seemed to be comatose. I looked over at Jareth, irritation spreading across my face.

"Uhh, a little help here, please?"

Jareth unfolded his arms and came over to me much too slowly, nudged Paul off of me with his boot, and helped me up.

"Thanks," I halfheartedly mumbled. "And seriously? Did you have to use your foot?"

"I didn't want to touch the imbecile, let alone get close enough to smell his stench even more than I already have since he's been here." Jareth looked me up and down. "Are you alright?" he inquired.

I wiped myself off as if I had Paul's germs or something on me and massaged my arm that was currently throbbing from falling.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But he isn't- look at him, he's out cold. Stupid idiot. Ugh."

Jareth looked down to see a snoring Paul on my floor. "Well, it certainly doesn't look like he's leaving anytime soon. Shall I dispose of him for you?"

I looked to Jareth; he had a mischievous smile plastered on his face, and I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not, but something told me he wasn't.

"No, don't do anything to him. Just… leave him there for now."

I walked over to my couch and sat down, feeling mentally exhausted and physically worn down. Jareth joined me, but I was too scared to look at what might as well be a stranger. _Hardly a_ _stranger and he just fucked your brains out_. I told myself to shut up, and I peered at Jareth from the corner of my eye. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Sarah…I understand we still very much need to talk. However… I can see that now is not a good time. I can come back lat…"

I interrupted before Jareth could finish. "No. I need answers. Now. What were you saying about Toby earlier?"

Jareth sighed again and ran his fingers through his long, blonde hair. _Paul might have not liked it, but I sure did. Wait, stop, don't think like that right now Sarah. Focus._

"It is a very long story, but the short version is that you wished Toby away to me in the Underground when you were fifteen years old. You ran a maze in my world, otherwise known as the Labyrinth, to get him back and you won. That is how we met."

I stared at Jareth with skepticism, not believing his words. _The Labyrinth? A maze? Underground? I'd remember such crazy things. Wouldn't I?_ I scoffed at him, completely flabbergasted by what he just said.

"What? That's not possible. First of all…why would I wish away Toby to _you?_ Second of all, I think I'd remember wishing away my own brother, not that I ever would. And lastly…that is just all too crazy to comprehend because it just. Can't. Happen." _Okay, not all of that was really true, because Toby was a brat as a baby and I probably would wish him away. But it isn't like I would really mean it. Plus, I believed in weirder things as a kid.  
_

"I promise you, it isn't crazy and it did happen," Jareth swore. "The reason you don't remember any of this Sarah is because… your memories of the ordeal have been wiped out. Or so I thought. And being that I am The Goblin King, well… that is how young Tobias came to be in my care. You wished him away to me specifically."

I imagined I probably looked ghostly white since I started to feel dizzy after hearing Jareth tell me this. _My memories have been wiped out? What? That just can't be true._ Despite the fact that I had somehow known Jareth's title already, I refused to accept any of this. It was too much and I let this be known.

"I don't believe you."

Jareth stood and looked at me with impatience. His expression made me feel I was about to be scolded and I didn't like it.

"You don't believe me." Jareth laughed out loud in an incredulous way and stared me down for several minutes. He spoke again. "Was it not you who earlier stated you believed _in_ me, Sarah? Because I could have sworn that you in fact, did say that. And don't tell me you didn't mean it- I know you did. Has it not been you who has dreamt and fantasized about me for the past seven years, _Sarah_? Shouldn't that alone give you any indication that you in fact _do_ know me, especially since I am here, in the flesh, in your presence, right now? Tell me _Sarah_ \- how would _any_ of this even be remotely possible if you and I didn't have a past with each other, hmm? You said my name two nights ago and here I am. You can sit there all you want and pretend to not believe any of this because that's the easy thing to do; to carry on with your life and act as though I don't truly exist or matter to you in some way, real or not. You'd be lying to yourself though, _Sarah_. I know deep in your heart you do believe in me, and the snippet of information I just told you, because if you truly didn't... you wouldn't have continued to fuck me earlier and love every second of it."

That last sentence of his did me in. I breathed heavily and got up and slapped him hard, tears forming in my eyes. I couldn't say much, for my voice was shaky but I managed out enough.

"Fuck...you."

I left the living room and stormed into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. I leaned against the door, and slid down in utter defeat until I was sitting, bawling my eyes out. His words had stung me, yet they rang true. I so badly wanted to pretend none of this was possible. Jareth was right- that would be the easy way out. But it would also be the hardest thing to do, because deep down I did believe. Plus what did that say about Paul talking to him? It isn't like I could have imagined all of that. Could I? And...I had given myself to him earlier because of my belief and the trust I had in him. I know he's telling the truth even now about how we met. I just can't acknowledge it, for none of this still makes any sense. How can any of it be _real_?

For this is the real world after all. And in the real world, fantasies and fairy tale endings just don't exist.

~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS~JS

 **AN: Time to rotate POV. PLEEEEEASE Review :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**JARETH**

I still felt the sharp pain inflicted upon me from Sarah's slap. I didn't know whether I should be livid, or if I deserved it. I was a king after all, and anyone who dared such a feat would surely be dead. However, this concerned Sarah, and I decided my words warranted the blow to my face. As soon as I mentioned the intimacy we shared not too long ago in such a careless way, I immediately regretted doing so. I wasn't sure what came over me, since I had promised myself to be patient with her. Clearly old habits die hard. I sighed heavily and looked around Sarah's home contemplating what I should do. My eyes landed on the asinine creature Sarah left behind on her floor.

I walked over to him and scrunched my forehead, trying to get a better look at this simpleton. Furrowing my eyebrows, I noticed a marking on his forearm. It was in black ink, and read the words "Kristy" in cursive writing. _This ignorant fool comes over here to claim back Sarah's heart, yet has sworn his love for another? What a complete and utter pinhead._ I scoffed at the boy and couldn't quite believe Sarah had been with someone who seemed so... juvenile. _Not that you're any better you bloody Fae._ I tried to shrug off my feelings of guilt, and continued to deliberate over what I should do next regarding Sarah. Do I leave her here to her own thoughts and give her space? Or is staying here until she's ready to talk the wise and sensible thing to do? I was at an impasse.

I hadn't expected anything to happen this fast with Sarah, and tonight's events had stunned me. Sarah called upon me in her dream again, and I was more than happy to oblige to her wishful desires. I truly was her slave. I will admit, I was mildly surprised when she instantly started asking me questions about the lucid dreams she had been having. She seemed so aware of everything and her belief and trust in me allowed me to sense within her that she was ready to open herself up to everything. Perhaps I pushed her too hard too soon, though. Maybe she wasn't as ready as _I_ wanted to believe. I should have stopped everything the moment she woke up, but once again- I was too weak. She hadn't stopped me from touching her and I didn't _want_ to stop, for every time I was near her I lost control- a feeling I was not used to.

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of my thoughts and I was determined to not let this night ruin anything between us. I decided I should stay, at least for a bit longer to explain myself. I walked over to Sarah's door and put my forehead against the wood. I was hesitant to say anything because I didn't wish to upset her further or cause more friction. I clenched my hand as it was hovering over the door, reluctance still taking over. I then heard a small sniffle emanating from Sarah and this caused me to lightly knock. I hated that she was crying because of me.

"Sarah…" I sighed. "I'm so sorry. For everything. I know this is much to take in, and I do not blame you for feeling disconcerted or vexed with me. I was out of line. You have every right to feel confused...hurt...angry. I plan on leaving soon to leave you to your own thoughts but before I do...I feel there are some things you should know."

I took a deep breath and began my cathartic rant.

"I know deep in your heart you trust me. I know this because it is that same heart that has unknowingly been beating for me for seven years. Your dreams are proof of this. While your mind hadn't a clue as to who I really was for that duration, your heart did. My own heart has irrevocably been beating for you too. Ever since you left the Underground ten years ago.

Before we even met, I would fly between this world and mine. One day, during one of my flights, I saw a young girl playing in the park reciting a play. This girl was of course you; you had to have been at least twelve. When I first saw you… I had never known anyone's soul to be so wholesome, pure, and passionate. I was drawn to your belief in everything, for it is rare for anyone to have such beliefs nowadays. I started watching you recite plays from afar often, but then you grew sad and lonely for a brief period of time, so I created something for you to ignite your passion once again. This creation was a book, which you found in the park one day. In this book, the heroine wished her baby brother away to The Goblin King. You were under the impression that he took wished away babies and turned them into goblins. I'll admit, I had mostly hoped that the book could influence your beliefs and act as a way for us to meet, but I didn't want to be too hopeful.

Then one night, when you were fed up with your step-mother and young Tobias, you wished him away in your act of petulance- to none other than myself. I was thrilled to finally meet you and couldn't have been more amazed that it was actually happening. While you were frightened of the ordeal, you held it together well, and I was impressed by your resilience. Nonetheless, I wanted to live up to your expectations of me, so I played my part well. You ran the Labyrinth to win Toby back, hit a few bumps along away, but came out victorious in the end. Then... you refused me. You do not remember this of course, but I offered you the world, Sarah. You were strong though, and rejected me in order to save your brother. Despite my feelings of contempt towards you over this, I could hardly be cross with you because you were still so young."

I laughed lightly.

"I also feel it is important for you to know that in spite of my feelings of affection for you, I did not plan on acting upon those feelings while you were still an adolescent; I merely wanted to be a part of your life so that someday we might have a chance. That never happened though, as I made several errors."

I let out a flow of oxygen, for I felt I was rambling and then I continued.

"Within that same book, Sarah… there were certain words I created that would end up being the undoing of everything. I didn't quite know the repercussions those words would have when I first formed them, for they simply served as a means to spark your own empowerment when you felt dejected."

I sighed again, debating whether or not I should tell her all of this. I decided I had to, if I wanted us to come out of this in any way.

 _"'Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered; I have fought my way here to the castle, beyond the Goblin City. To take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours; and my kingdom is as great; you have no power over me.'"_

I closed my eyes, regret taking over me; not due to self-pity, but more so because I felt culpable for Sarah's current state of mind.

"Those were the words you said to me in our final moments together. When you said I had no power over you, you unintentionally made it so that myself and the underground could not live within you in any way. I suppose in my own arrogance, I assumed you'd take my offer and I hadn't counted on you using those words against me. I should have known better, and gone about everything in an entirely different manner and just told you Toby would have been safe regardless of the outcome. I was a fool. Your memories of the Labyrinth and myself were taken away because of my own doing. I fought hard to find ways to undo this, but to no avail. I gave up hope, knowing you'd never remember me ever again."

I smiled, remembering the exact moment I heard Sarah say my name.

"But then, the impossible happened. Two nights ago… you said my name along with my title out loud. You see Sarah, I can only be seen in this form when I am summoned Aboveground- when someone wishes me for me. But being that you had already done this, despite you not knowing it, you saying _only_ my name must have partly voided the memory spell and granted me full consent to come or see you whenever I wanted. I held off on meeting you in person though, for I did not wish to alarm you so soon. I watched you through other means until such time came when and if you were ready to meet in person, and tonight... it seemed like you were. I shouldn't have pushed you earlier though in that dream.

Speaking of dreams...I...regret to say that I tapped into yours shortly after your faux pas of saying my name. I know I shouldn't have done it, but I was completely overwhelmed by everything that was happening and I couldn't resist the temptation. It had been so long since I last saw you Sarah, and I needed to be near you again in some way. And what I saw in your dreams awed me- you had been dreaming about me for _seven_ years. As I was wandering through your dreams, you began dreaming of me and I felt compelled to insert myself within that dream. It would seem that... when I spoke to you, it acted as a trigger of sorts within yourself. I suppose this is why you've been left feeling…perturbed these last few days. You knew you were missing something, but couldn't quite grasp it. Sensing your conflicting emotions in last nights dream, and as I said before, I promised myself I would be patient and would only tell you everything when I felt you were ready. I had no idea everything would be out in the open this soon."

I took another breath, but I couldn't stop there; I needed to finish this.

"The reason you've been able to vaguely remember me Sarah is because...I unexpectedly created a loophole in the memory spell. I…I granted _you_ a certain power; a power that entitled you to be my equal, if and when you proved it. You managed to do just that when you beat the Labyrinth. You further asserted yourself and proclaimed your will was as strong as mine and your kingdom as great, and you _meant_ it. They weren't just words to you. Luckily, those words I've come to hate so much acted as a caveat to the spell, so I suppose they weren't all for nothing.

What I'm trying to say Sarah is...it was and has been by sheer willpower that you were able to remember me, all this time. Granted, your memories of me were taking place deep within your mind and only in dreams, but I suspect the exact reasoning for this is because… my will to remember and be with you never stopped. Being that you truly are my equal, your will was parallel to mine. It was as though your heart was fighting for me all these years as well. I do not want you to think that I placed some curse upon you by damning you to feel and think everything that I do; that isn't how this magic works. I cannot make you do anything you do not wish to do after all, for I still have no power over you. That's how equality works, is it not?"

I closed my eyes and debated what I should say next. I sincerely hoped she was listening.

"We were strangers when we met ten years ago, and I'm resentful that we are practically strangers on this night as well. I swear on my kingdom…my subjects…my own life… that we are not strangers though, Sarah. I am so profusely sorry for everything I have done that has caused this recent turmoil in your life. If you do not wish to ever see me again after this night, I understand. Please know that I never meant for any of this to happen and if I could go back and change certain things, I would. I have no idea what you're thinking of me at this point, and if it is resentment I understand. A part of me wishes you would have just carried on with your life without all this knowledge, but another part of me, the selfish part, couldn't be happier that you somehow held onto a piece of me all these years. Ever since I saw you as a child, I knew your will was strong and determined. Clearly I wasn't wrong. I will leave you alone now, for I know you need time to process everything. Should you need me…I'll be there for you. As the world falls down, Precious."

I backed away from the door and turned to leave. Just as I was about to, I heard the door open. I turned around, and saw a tear-stained face looking at me with what seemed like clemency and acceptance. Sarah walked over to me and grabbed my hand. She smiled at me, and it gave me hope; hope that we could work through this and begin a friendship and eventually, someday, become more. I wasn't sure what time it was, or where exactly we go from here. But knowing she wasn't running away from everything I had just told her spoke volumes.

I pushed her hair behind her ear and her eyes sparkled.

"So, Sarah…what do we do now?"

* * *

 **AN: Sooo... this all makes sense in my own head. But I realize it may come across as confusing to others. So if you need an explanation please feel free to PM me :) Sarah will have further questions for Jareth, of course.  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**SARAH**

"So, Sarah…what do we do now?"

I wiped the tears from my face and stared at the man who had just been so transparent with me. _What DO we do now?_

I let out a tense chuckle. "I think all I want to do right now is sleep and think about everything. And I'll have to take care of _that_ situation tomorrow when he wakes up." I nodded my head towards Paul. "Speaking of which…how…how did you know about him?" I gave Jareth a curious glare and squinted my eyes.

He looked down, as if he felt ashamed. "I feel that question is better suited for another time. You've already taken in a rather large portion of information tonight. Perhaps tomorrow or… sometime later is better for your state of mind."

I couldn't argue with that; he had a point. I was feeling somewhat better after Jareth explained some things. I knew I still needed more details, but tonight's explanation would have to do. For now.

"You're probably right." I closed my eyes and let out the longest sigh of my life. "Well, I'm really tired and I've had a whirlwind of an evening so… I'm gonna go to bed. I guess um… I guess I'll see you...soon?"

I felt incredibly awkward all of a sudden. It was literally as if we hadn't just had the most amazing sex of my entire life and I hadn't just had a nervous breakdown. Even though I believed Jareth and everything he said, it still felt weird to think that I had relations with a total stranger and he's here now. _He's not really a stranger, Sarah. You've dreamt about him for like…ever. And you met him ten years ago, hello!_

I chastised my inner self for thinking that way because for one- I don't remember us ever meeting. And two, just because I had been dreaming about someone for a while didn't mean much. Well that's not really true either, I have been wanting this man for years. What's the saying? Be careful what you wish for? _Oh shut up, you're happy about this deep down and you know it._ I mentally kicked myself again.

Jareth could tell I was lost in my own thoughts because he was giving me a concerned look and interrupted my thinking. "Yes, I think a good night's sleep will do you good. I'll just be off then..."

Jareth turned away from me but I grabbed his elbow and he gave me a confused look. Despite everything that occurred moments earlier, I really didn't want him to leave. Why was that?

"Do you think…um…uh…I don't…I don't really want to be alone. With my drunken ex and all. Would you mind…I don't know, staying, somehow…? For security purposes." I hoped I wasn't too obvious.

Jareth gave me a look as though seemed grateful and relieved that I didn't want him totally gone. "Of course, Sarah," he answered. "If that is what you want. I will happily stay."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. "Thanks. Um, the couch is a pull out bed, so… you're welcomed to use it."

Jareth looked to the couch that we had been on together not too long ago and I bit my lip nervously.

"It's perfect," he assured me. "Go get some rest, Sarah. I will see you in the morning?"

I gave him a nod and an awkward wave goodbye and went to my bedroom. I closed my door and my heart was racing. _This has to be the craziest month of my life._ I walked to my bathroom and sat at the edge of my bathtub, replaying everything that had happened in the last few days.

Okay so. Alexa came over Friday night. I told her about my dreams, and said Jareth's name out loud. That's when everything got weird. I had a dream about him, he spoke to me in the dream and it left me feeling weird, as Jareth explained. I thought I saw someone in my apartment that same night… _that was probably Jareth now that I think about it, what a creep._ I tightened my lips- another thing to ask him about. What next? Right, Alexa and I unpacked on Saturday, a stupid owl flew into my room. _Note- ask Jareth about the owl too, seems too coincidental, especially since he said he flew in between worlds._ I then basically forced myself to get over the moron sleeping soundly in the same room as Jareth. _Yikes, awkward._ What else? I had another dream about Jareth yesterday afternoon. While that one was different than Friday night's dream, it still left me feeling a little mystified. Then today… I met Angel who pretty much handed me tonight's events on a fucking silver platter. Who knew tarot cards could be so accurate? I came home, started dreaming about Jareth again, we talked, things got heated… _ugh, so embarrassing._ Then the dumb ass ex came over and made a fool of himself, Jareth and I got into an argument, and he explained some things that hardly made sense yet…maybe it did all make sense?

I put my face in my hands. _Godddddd, this just doesn't happen to normal people though!_ But I suppose I haven't truly been normal since I was fifteen. How could I have wished away Toby like that? And the Labyrinth? I managed to beat a maze at just fifteen to rescue my brother? Who knew I was such a badass. I can't believe Jareth tried getting with me at just fifteen, either. I wish I could remember everything… I'll have to ask Jareth about _that_ as well. If he took my memories away, surely he could give them back, right? But do I _really_ want to remember everything? Or is it better to let lying dogs rest and just move on? Speaking of moving on…just how in the world did Paul know where I lived? And why is he even here! It's crazy how two nights ago I thought I actually missed him and considered giving him another chance. Now I couldn't even fathom such a thing.

I groaned into my hands. I had too much on my mind and I was about to make myself go insane. Everything really has changed…and it's all because of the man from my dreams. Could he really have been the missing puzzle piece in my life? I needed sleep. I got up from the bathtub and washed my face, brushed my teeth, and sank into bed. _I'm gonna have to take a sick day tomorrow from work._ I needed a day to sort through all this, plus I still had questions for Jareth. I somehow managed to fall asleep in the midst of my thoughts and fell into a dreamless and peaceful slumber.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

My so-called peaceful sleep was interrupted by yelling and my eyes sprang open as I ran out into the living room, faster than I thought was possible, where I heard the shouting. What I found made me bring my hands to my mouth and my eyes grow large: there, in the middle of my apartment, was Paul holding a chair above his head, ready to slam it down on…an owl?! How the hell did another owl get in here?! I then realized that Jareth was nowhere to be found… _well, I guess THAT answers my question about the owl._ I ran over to Paul and pushed him away from the bird.

"Don't hurt him!" I yelled.

Paul looked at the owl and back at me, as if I was crazy. "Sarah, you have a WILD fucking animal in your apartment! That thing probably has diseases and shit!"

"No, he doesn't," I promised. "Just… leave him alone Paul, and put the chair down."

Paul reluctantly did as I asked him, and looked at the owl with a hesitant expression. "Since when do you have an owl as a pet?" he asked. "Is that even legal?"

I looked at the owl, aka Jareth presumably, and took note in how his wings flapped and his eyes blinked. _Aw, he was so cute._ I focused my attention back on Paul.

"Don't worry about the owl, okay? Let's cut to the chase: why did you come here last night?"

Paul sighed and put his hands behind his head. "I miss you," he said after several silent seconds.

All I could do was let out a huff. "You miss me. That's rich. Did you seriously think I would take you back, after…" I stopped talking when I noticed something on Paul's arm. He saw what I was looking at and tried covering it up, but it was too late. I grabbed his right arm and saw the tattoo which read her name. I expected myself to feel sad, or bitter, or…something but nothing really came except clarity. I dropped his arm and could only laugh.

"Wow. You are something else, Paul," I said.

"Sarah, I can explain."

"No no, it's fine. Seriously. I wish you both every happiness in the world. Truly. Because you deserve each other," I told Paul as I backed away from him.

He took another step toward me. "Baby…she doesn't mean anything to me."

"Don't 'baby' me, you ass," I scoffed. "You have her name TATTOOED on your arm for Christ sake. I can't _believe_ you came here, trying to ask for my forgiveness, with that… bitch's name permanently marked on your body. What the hell goes through your mind?" I crossed my arms, waiting for an answer and Paul could only look down at the floor.

"Sarah…it was all a mistake," he started to say. "I just…I felt like you and I were growing apart. There were times where you seemed so distracted and disinterested in me. I don't know, it's like…you weren't there all the time. Ya know? You would just shut off and it seemed like you were always in your own thoughts. I told myself to not think too much into it, but seven years of feeling that way…it took its toll on me."

"So you cheated," I pointed out. "Rather than just ask me what was wrong or communicate with me that you felt a certain way…you betrayed me. Look, I can't deny that yes, sometimes…my mind was elsewhere often. But it doesn't change what you did. If you didn't want to be with me anymore you should have just ended things."

"I know…I fucked up," Paul admitted.

That's all he could say? I gave him a look that suggested he say something else, but he clearly didn't have anything else _to_ say. Well, I sure as hell did.

"Okay…so…why are you here then? Last night you came here proclaiming your love for me, yet apparently…you feel like you wasted seven years of your life? Which is it Paul?"

"I never said I wasted time with you, Sarah," Paul tried explaining. "I merely said I occasionally felt a certain way throughout the relationship which caused me distress this past year. Still, I shouldn't have cheated. You were amazing, Sar. _Are_ amazing. I took you for granted. I miss you and your quirky, nerdy tendencies. I miss the Stitch voice you do from Lilo and Stitch. I just miss you, and Kristy was an infatuation. I got this tattoo one night when I was drunk."

I skipped over everything Paul had said and focused only on his last few words. "You seem to be getting drunk a lot lately."

"Yeah well, I've been unhappy. Look Sarah…give me another chance. Please. We'll work on things, I'll be better, and…"

I put my hand up to stop him from continuing. "No. Sorry but no. No to…everything. I know this may sound crazy Paul but…I don't love you anymore. Three days ago I would have easily convinced myself that I did. But…I can't just pretend that what you did didn't happen. I have been spent the last four weeks crying over you and I am _so_ tired of feeling that way. You took the easy way out and there's no way I'd trust you again anyway. You want to stand there and chastise me and basically suggest that I had it coming for you to cheat on me because what? Oh, because I didn't give you my undivided attention every single second of every single day? And because you were too much of a coward to actually tell me how you felt? That's not my problem. And you know what else Paul? You're an asshole, you've always been one, and you never really appreciated me anyway. I'm not going to let you turn this on me, and rationalize your actions as if it's my fault. You're a liar, and a cheat. End of story."

Paul looked at me as if he couldn't believe I was turning him down. _What is it with these arrogant men thinking they can just have me without warrant?_ He scoffed, put his hands behind his head again, and started pacing.

"It's because of that creep from last night, huh?" he asked. "I knew you were screwing him, you wouldn't say no to me otherwise."

"Oh get off your high horse Paul," I said rolling my eyes. "I wouldn't have taken you back regardless after I really thought about it. And leave Jareth out of this."

" _Jareth_? Who is he anyway, Sarah? He looked dangerous and…bizarre. Had he just gotten back from a renaissance fair or something? Guy looked like a fucking weirdo. No. No, I refuse to accept this."

I ignored his comments about Jareth; I wasn't going to take the bait. He didn't deserve an explanation and I just wanted him gone. "Well, you're going to have to," I announced. "Because…we're not getting back together. Ever."

Paul and I just stared at each other, and I gave him a look that indicated _'hello? there's nothing else to say here.'_ But he wasn't taking the hint, so I said, "I really think you should go now, Paul."

Then he did something dramatic- he crouched down and put his hands on face. Was he…was he crying? Oh, dear lord baby Jesus. I put my hand up to my mouth to keep myself from laughing. I looked around my apartment for a brief second to distract myself and noticed the owl was gone. What the…

"No. You can't do this, Sarah," Paul cried bringing my attention back to him. "I know you love me still, we were together for seven years! You're going to just walk away from this? From us?"

That had me bursting out laughing. "Oh Paul…you ruined 'us' the moment you fucked Kristy. We probably wouldn't have made it anyway because you _clearly_ are not the right guy for me. Now get out."

I walked to the front door and opened it, throwing my arm out that told him to leave. The bastard stayed in his spot. I rolled my eyes. "Paul…get. The F out. Now."

He still didn't move and glared at me. I was getting annoyed now, and wondered where the hell Jareth was at. No more than three seconds later did he appear from my room.

"I believe the lady asked you to leave," Jareth icily said. "Or told you, rather. You really should listen, _boy."_

Paul suddenly stood up from his crouched position and walked over to Jareth, as if he was about to assert himself in some way and I could only watch with glee.

"Oh look who's here," Paul retorted. "The old man who Sarah claims she isn't fucking. If you don't mind, me and _my_ girl are trying to figure some things out, so why don't you just-" Paul shoved Jareth and my eyes widened, "-back the fuck off."

Jareth suddenly grabbed Paul by the front of his shirt and held him up using one hand and all I could do was watch with eyes wide open and my hand covered my mouth.

"I'm going to say this once, and only once, so listen you dimwitted fool," Jareth spat out. "First of all- do not _ever_ lay a hand on me. Secondly- you are without doubt one of the poorest excuses of a man I've encountered. Sarah has explicitly told you she isn't interested in 'figuring things out' as you put it. Are you really that daft? Or is your pride just wounded from her rejection? I'm going to assume both, which is understandable I suppose. However, it doesn't change the fact that you are still a complete and total imbecile. What kind of mortal would be ignorant enough to spend their short lived days with another when you can have _her?_ I've met many idiots in my long life _boy_ , but you are the most idiotic of them all."

He dropped Paul, who hit the floor coughing and held his neck dramatically; Jareth crouched down next to him.

"Now. I'm going to give you two options: you can either leave here now as Sarah so kindly told you, and never come back, unless she asks you to which I rather doubt will happen. Or…you can put up a further fight and face the consequences. Choose."

Still touching the base of his neck, Paul stood up. His whole face was bright red, and I actually felt kind of sorry for him. I opened the door wider, trying to hint that he should take Jareth's offer. He looked at Jareth and then back at me, and left. I guess that was officially the end of Paul. I shut the door and stood there for a few seconds, debating how I should start a conversation with the other man in my apartment who just showed a rather intense side to himself.

"So...," I began after several seconds and turned to Jareth. "Um...do you want, coffee?" God I sucked at this. What the hell was I supposed to say to him after that performance? I thought I had this all planned out.

"Coffee would be lovely, thank you," Jareth politely said. Man is he mercurial, I thought. He just went apeshit on my ex and now he's saying words like 'lovely.'

I was a little surprised that Jareth even took me up on coffee, for I didn't even think he drank such a beverage. _There's probably a lot you don't know about him Sarah._ I sighed and walked over to my kitchen to turn on the Keurig machine. I could feel Jareth's eyes on me as I prepared our coffee and I still couldn't get past the awkwardness. I thought last night's sleep would help, but if anything I'm even more at a loss of words today. I finished making our coffee and met Jareth at the dining room table, where we both sat. I sipped my drink tentatively and watched Jareth do the same, both of us afraid to speak up first it seemed. There was no way I was going to be the first to talk, even though I should.

"Do you not have work?" Jareth suddenly asked. "I thought humans worked during the week."

"Shit!" I ran up to grab my cell phone; it was only 6:50 AM so I still had plenty of time to call in sick, but I was cutting it close as I had to be in work by eight. I called my boss and told him I wasn't feeling well and that I needed a sick day. Being that I never take days off, he was more than okay with me not coming in and I was relieved. I hung up the phone with him, and went back to sit with Jareth.

"Thanks for reminding me, I nearly forgot," I told him. I sipped some more of my coffee and tried avoiding direct eye contact with Jareth, for I was feeling incredibly shy.

"Did you sleep well?" Jareth asked, taking me out of my thoughts.

"Um, yeah. Yeah I did, actually. Surprisingly. I thought for sure I'd be restless given everything that happened, but it seems like I exhausted myself to the point beyond belief," I finished saying.

"Good, I'm pleased to hear that you slept well," Jareth said.

"Did…you sleep well? Actually did you sleep at all? It doesn't look like the couch was used," I said while chuckling.

"Yes, I slept. Don't worry about me," he replied with a small smile.

I peered up from my mug and looked at the man sitting across from me. _He really was beautiful._ I was beginning to get lost in his features when I remembered I still needed resolution. "So...um…I have a few questions..."

"I'd be worried if you didn't," Jareth responded.

"My memories," I jumped right in. "Can I...am I allowed to have those back...?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes, if you desire them back, all you need is to wish for it," Jareth answered.

"That's...that's it? That's all it takes? How is it so simple?" I asked feverishly.

Jareth sighed. "The only way the spell could have been reversed is if you wished for your memories back. That would of course require you to summon me, or call my name, both of which would have been impossible you see, for you obviously weren't supposed to know I existed. Well, that turned out to be false as we now know. I told you last night the spell was partly nulled, and that happened when you said my name. The only remaining facet to the spell is that your memories are still somewhat missing because you haven't wished for them back. Yet."

I contemplated what Jareth had just told me. Why is all this so confusing? Or was it? I furrowed my brows. I thought back to the question I asked myself last night: _did_ I want my memories back? A part of me wanted to know my mindset from all those years ago, and of course I wanted to relive the experience and remember Jareth more clearly. But another part of me was scared; I felt it could possibly be a little alarming and I mean... my life had turned out pretty decent, all things considered. Jareth was really here now, and I'd get to know him in a different way, should I choose to.

"I'll have to think about what I want to do... any advice?" I asked.

"They're your memories, Sarah. You have to decide on your own," Jareth told me. "However, selfishly speaking, I would love for you to remember your stint in the Underground for I feel it would give you a sense of fulfillment and understanding, but I realize that uncovering a part of yourself from an entire decade ago would be...overwhelming to say the least."

I thought about this and told myself it was something I'd need to debate heavily. Right now I was swaying towards not wanting them back. While I was willing to give Jareth a chance and talk this all out, it still felt strange to think all of this was real. In that sense, having my memories back might help make this less surreal. Which brought me to my next question.

"What exactly are you…? And what is the Underground?"

Jareth smiled at me in a way that indicated I was about to hear the unexplainable.

"The Underground is simply another world, or realm if you will," he began. "It exists in another dimensional plane and has been around for millenniums, comprising of nine kingdoms, though the entirety of it is ruled by the high king and queen. Few humans actually know about its existence, but it's been the subject of many folktales and mythology, much of which I'm sure you've heard about at some point in your life. It is home to numerous creatures and beings, including the Fae, which is what I am. My role in the underground is King of the Goblins. I rule in the southern part of the Underground and manage the Labyrinth."

 _Fae, huh? Well that all makes perfect sense._ I had immersed myself into different kinds of mythology throughout my life, so I was somewhat knowledgeable about his kind and numerous other folktales, but to know that it all existed was just crazy. I so badly wanted to tell Alexa 'I told you so.' My mind then turned to the Labyrinth, and I suddenly wanted to know more about it.

"Just what _is_ the Labyrinth?" I asked. "Is it only a maze?"

Jareth chuckled. "No, it is much, much more. The maze is simply a structure surrounding a portion of my kingdom that acts in the capacity of several things, such as warding off intruders, but the Labyrinth is encompassed by an entity within the maze that has been around since even before I ruled. It is vital to the survival and welfare of the Underground, really; the Labyrinth and I work in tandem to ensure this. Only a powerful and worthy Fae can gain the respect of said entity, though."

"Interesting. So, the Labyrinth is alive?" I inquired.

"In a sense, yes."

"Why is it so important to the Underground as a whole?"

"The Labyrinth acts as an equilibrium of sorts within the Underground; think of it as… a biological internet, with nature being the stored information. It is the guiding force of the Underground, and if it destructs or loses stability then it could reap unwanted consequences throughout my world. Only a worthy king can rule over the entity, but to do this he must prove his worthiness by running the maze himself. That ruler not only has a duty to the Labyrinth to ensure its own well-being, but to safeguard the livelihood of the Fae."

"The livelihood of the Fae? What do you mean?"

"Fae have a rather difficult time conceiving, you see," Jareth explained. "While the Underground comprises of other beings who do not have this problem, Fae rule most of the kingdoms, with the exception of three. Because of this, it is necessary that the rulers have heirs. My role is to then take unwanted and wished away children to families, whether they're royal or not, and provide them with a child, should they need or want one."

"Wow…you sound pretty important in your world then," I pointed out. "How did you become…the Goblin King? And why aren't you the almighty ruler if you oversee such an important part of how your world functions?"

"I inherited the position from my uncle, who became king after my father and grandfather died. My grandfather was ruling at the time, but once he and my father passed, I then became the remaining heir to the throne after my uncle was crowned king. Of course, I had to prove myself as I said, for just _no one_ can rule over the Labyrinth. Though running the maze was quite different for myself than when you ran it. My uncle made it a point to try and kill me when it was nearing my time to rule, as a means to demonstrate whether or not I had the capability to do so. A lovely man, when you got to know him. As for your second question… I do not wish to rule the entire Underground. And I can't even if I did want to. Once upon a time, many years ago, the ruler of the southern region _did_ govern all the kingdoms due to the power they held. However, it isn't unusual for a group of beings to rise up against a tyrannical ruler who has too much control and authority. Surely you can appreciate that from human history. The kingdoms conspired and then felt it was necessary to even out the playing field a little bit, and after a war waged, the capital of the Underground was moved to a region near the northeast. And it's been that way since before I was born."

 _Damn._ I didn't think I'd be getting a mini history lesson here, but I guess that's what I get for being nosey about Jareth's title and everything. Somehow I doubted I knew any of this even before I lost my memories. It was all fascinating information, and it gave me a sense as to who Jareth was, but man was it overwhelming.

"Jeeze, that's…a lot to take in. So, what? I got the dummied down version of the maze?" I asked jokingly.

Jareth smiled at me and tilted his head. "I would hardly put it in such terms, but I suppose that yes- most runners today have a more… _fair_ advantage of succeeding, though it has never happened before. You're the first human to have ever won."

This gave me a sense of pride, and I squared my shoulders more as I sat in my seat. This was all so remarkable, but I realized I needed to know something before I asked further questions. Just to quench my own curiosity. "How…how old are you exactly?"

Jareth was quiet and I gave him a look that told him to go on.

"Two thousand, one hundred sixty nine," he finally said.

Jesus that was a long time. I could barely process the fact that I was a quarter of a century old so I just nodded like that made total sense. I decided to switch gears for I knew I was heading down a path that involved more history and math, and my brain was unable to handle that much information right now.

"You can turn into an owl?" I asked changing the subject.

Jareth laughed lightly. "Yes, I can."

"Was that you on Saturday then? Who left behind the feather? And this morning?"

"Yes," was all Jareth said.

"And...the other night? Were you here in my apartment or was I imagining things?" I probed.

Jareth seemed uncomfortable at this question. He started squirming in his chair a little, and I waited for an answer.

"Yes... that was me," he admitted, having the decency to look somewhat ashamed.

I pursed my lips, not knowing how I felt about the fact that Jareth could just pop into my life now whenever he wanted. There needed to be boundaries if he was going to continue to be in my life.

 _Whoa, Sarah don't get ahold of yourself now. You just met the man._

 _What are you talking about? You'd be stupid to get rid of this man. DON'T FUCK THIS UP SARAH. You know him!_

I battled with myself internally before I realized I should probably say something again. "And Paul. How did you know about him?" I asked.

Jareth sighed, as if this was a painful situation for him to be in. "Before I came here in person, I watched you through this." Jareth suddenly produced a crystal and tried handing it to me, but all I could do was stare in wonder. He just created a fucking crystal ball...god this was weird. I took it from him hesitantly and looked into it. I could see myself and Alexa in it from Friday night talking about my dreams, specifically when she asked me if I had ever told Paul about them.

"You were eavesdropping on us?" I asked with a hint of annoyance laced in my voice. First he spies on me through this, enters into my apartment without permission...twice! And then invites himself to peer into my dreams throughout the years. "You have to realize how invasive and creepy this all looks," I said point blank.

"Sarah," he said exasperatedly. "Please understand. You were out of reach for ten years and I...I was overwhelmed by everything that was happening. I told you last night, I just had to be near you somehow, someway. My idea of invasiveness isn't quite up to par with your standards," he tried reasoning. "But I apologize if you feel I invaded your privacy."

"Well what made you think it was okay to just go into my head and look into my dreams? Or just come here unannounced?" I wanted to know.

"Honestly I didn't think twice about either decision; they seemed reasonable and rational at the time. And, if I remember correctly, me interfering in your dream Friday evening led us to a rather satisfying outcome, did it not?" Jareth gave me a mischievous smile and it was almost enough to make me forget I was supposed to be unsettled by his intrusions.

"Yeah well, Alexa woke me up, so I'd hardly call it satisfying," I said out loud, making him smirk.

I was still really agitated and bothered that Jareth had so much power to access so much in my head and home, and I badly wanted to act out and tell him how uncool that all was, but I knew it wouldn't get us anywhere. He had already done it, and there wasn't much I could do about it now; he could clearly tell I was troubled by all of it and I knew he felt bad. To a degree anyway.

"Any more questions, Precious?" he asked.

I let out a tense chuckle. "Not at the moment, but I'm sure as time goes on I will. This is just all so crazy still. And I'd like to point out that checking a twelve year old girl out comes across as a little pedophilic."

Jareth rolled his eyes at this. "I wasn't _checking you out_ , and I didn't harbor romantic feelings for you then. I cared about you yes, but not in the way you're suggesting. Really, Sarah I have more tact than that."

"Fifteen is still kind of young, you know," I pointed out, trying to give him a hard time now.

"Like I said, despite my… _feelings_ for you, I would have never acted upon them in any way to cause you discomfort. Not until you were of age. There's this thing I wanted to enjoy with you first called friendship where-"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Gosh. Don't get your panties in a twist," I joked.

"I don't wear _panties_ , Sarah," Jareth felt the need to tell me.

"No, Jareth, I know. It's just an expression, it means…never mind." He was clearly hopeless with human idioms.

He looked at me then as if he was in shock by something I said and I was beginning to panic. "What? Do I have something on my face?" I asked as I wiped my hands over my cheeks.

"No, it's not that. It's just…I enjoy when you say my name. It makes all of this even more real for me."

I looked at Jareth shyly. He really seemed like a romantic, which was surprising given how intimidating he looks. Who would have thought a big ol' bad goblin king could be so tender, especially with that performance this morning and then there's how aggressive he was with me in Friday's dream. I gave him a timid smile and sipped more of my coffee that was growing cold now.

"I missed you, you know," he said out of nowhere, causing my heart to sink. What do I say to that? I set my mug down and anxiety began to take over me again. It was almost as if reality was settling in and I had momentarily forgotten how crazy this was all supposed to be. He missed me, but I still had no clue who he really was. Or did I? _Gahhh, I'm so confused!_ I sat up and went to the kitchen to deposit my coffee in the sink. Jareth could clearly see my distress because all I heard from behind me was, "I'm sorry, I…I shouldn't have said that."

I turned back to face him. "It's okay, I um…um…"

Jareth walked over and stood in front of me. He grabbed my hands and kissed my knuckles, which sent a fleeting amount of butterflies to the pit of my stomach. Why did I get the feeling he was saying goodbye? I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. "Jareth?" I asked.

He took a deep breath. "Sarah. As much as I would love to stay here with you and talk about everything and anything…I think, the best thing for you right now is to have some time alone. I stayed here last night because you asked it of me, and I'd gladly do the same again. However…I can see that you're still feeling rather confused with all of this, which is understandable. I don't want you to feel pressured to take this all in so quickly. With that being said…I'm going to leave you be for a while. When you're ready to talk again, you only need to call on me, and I will be there. But in the meantime…please take time to yourself to process everything."

My eyes became misty, as his swift decision to suddenly leave me kind of hurt. Was I being that obvious that all of this was still crazy to think about? I knew he was right, though; I did need time alone to think about this, since last night's sleep hardly helped and today's information has only intensified my confusion. I assumed that perhaps he needed time to think as well, and I didn't want to seem clingy or anything. So I gave a weak smile and tried to not cry.

"Okay," was all I could muster out. "Um…I guess, I'll see you soon then?"

He didn't say anything; he only caressed my cheek with one of his fingers and before I had a moment to enjoy his touch, he left- just like that, leaving me alone in my apartment. I slid against my kitchen counter until I was sitting on the floor, unsure of how to feel. In one breath, I appreciated the fact he was willing to give me space. But another side of me felt uneasy; as though I wouldn't see him again, especially with that kind of departure.

While I hoped that wouldn't be the case, I forced myself to believe that everything would be okay eventually. I just wasn't sure how long that would take. Days? Weeks? Months, even? I closed my eyes and sighed. Life is full of conundrums that is for damn sure. I just wasn't sure how to go about solving this one. I didn't know how long I stayed sitting there like that. I only knew that these next few days would be torture and I knew I needed to talk to the one person who would believe me. Angel.

* * *

 **Next chapter will feature Jareth's POV again :) woohoo! So, honestly, I'm expecting this thing to go another 4-5 chapters, then an epilogue. As I've been writing this, I really didn't know where I wanted the story to go, it's been kind of on a whim. I'm curious what you guys think. Where would you like to see it go as you're reading this? I have ideas in mind for a sequel eventually, which will definitely hit on some things mentioned in this chapter. But I'm interested in seeing what readers think. Let me know if you want/can :) And thanks to everyone who has been reviewing thus far!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**JARETH**

"Damn it all to hades!" I said out loud as soon as I arrived back in my castle. I stormed to my throne room and told all the goblins to leave. They just stared at me as though they couldn't believe my sudden mood change from when they saw me last. Do they not know me after all these years? Volatile might as well have been my middle name.

"I said LEAVE!"

They finally scrambled and left, taking the blasted chickens with them. I plopped down in my throne chair and threw my face into my hands, feeling completely despondent with everything that occurred – once again – in such short time. _Why must nothing be easy when it comes to Sarah?_ I hated leaving her like that, but we both needed time to think. It would be pure torment to wait until I could see her again. Patience was not my strong suit, either.

"You look like hell," came a sudden voice from the other side of the room. "Is everything alright?"

I looked up and saw Lucis, my advisor and closest friend, carrying a stack of papers which I assumed were responses from my fellow Fae and the other kingdoms letting me know they were planning on coming to my Fall Festival. He walked towards me and set the papers down on a nearby pillar.

"Jareth? Did something happen?" he continued to probe.

"If you were here these past seventy two hours, then you'd know. It's a rather long story otherwise," I told him, rubbing my forehead. "And please tell me you've gone through those responses so I don't have to."

Lucis let out a chuckle that sounded more like sneering. "Well, you did allow me the time off to visit my dying mother, but had I known you needed me here I would have of course come, your majesty. As for your question, yes, I've gone through these responses."

"Good," I mumbled. "How is your mother?" I already knew the answer of course, but I was trying to avoid the topic regarding Sarah.

Lucis raised his eyebrows as though he couldn't believe I had taken an interest in his mother's condition. I wasn't _that_ cold. Lucis responded hesitantly and told me, "She'll be passing into the veil soon. It shouldn't be more than a day or two now."

I didn't know what to say, for I knew Lucis did not want my pity and he wasn't terribly close to his mother anyway. My own parents were better to Lucis than his growing up.

"So, are you going to tell me what transpired to put you in such a foul mood? Not that you're usually in a happy one these days," Lucis jokingly said.

I let out an irritable sigh, and figured I should probably tell him everything. But where to start? "Sarah is what happened," I decided to simply say.

Lucis stared at me incredulously, eyes wide open. "What? Surely you don't mean, _that_ Sarah?"

"Of course I mean _that_ Sarah. Is there any other?" I retorted.

"What do you mean then? What happened?" Lucis asked.

"I mean, she's accessible again. She said my name out loud three nights ago."

Lucis narrowed his eyes. "That's not possible."

"That's what I thought. But, it happened. Apparently…she had been dreaming about me for the past seven years. I've come to find out that through her _…strong willpower_ , which I so _generously_ appointed to her, she hung on to fragments of me. This…willpower acted as a counter to the memory spell, as the Labyrinth was kind enough to share with me."

"You spoke to the Labyrinth about this?" Lucis asked me skeptically.

"I had to," I argued. "I was afraid It intervened somehow, being that It shares a connection with all those who run the maze. I didn't think it was myself who caused everything. Though I can't say I regret doing so, even if it was in ignorance."

Lucis shook his head. "You mean to tell me that Sarah, the girl who bested you and was forced to retire her memories of everything involving the Labyrinth and yourself, has remembered you all this time through simple dreams. By sheer willpower. Do I have that correct?"

"So it would seem," I said tapping my riding crop against my boot.

"And she obtained this willpower, _how_ , again?" Lucis asked.

"Because of that cursed book I gave her all those years ago. As you are well aware, she used _those_ words against me the last time I saw her. I didn't have any control or influence over her per those words, thus I wasn't allowed to stay within her heart unless she wanted me to."

"Go on…," Lucis said.

I tightened my lips before I spoke again. "She also stated that her will was as strong as mine. Being that she is my equal, once again due to my generosity…she was seemingly allowed to share a bit of _my own_ willpower, which meant she clearly wanted me to remain close to her heart on some subconscious level. She fought hard against the magic to do this, and succeeded."

Lucis scrunched his forehead as if this was all too crazy to comprehend. I couldn't agree more.

"I know it seems implausible but it's true," I stated. "I visited Sarah in her dream three nights ago, and I spoke to her in that dream. By doing this, I…I must have activated her repressed memories more and everything started to fall into place, albeit rather quickly. She wished upon me two more times after that in her mind, and I was obligated to come. Long story short, last night she wished that my presence was in real time, not in a dreamscape, and now I suppose we're back in each other's lives." _Hopefully,_ I thought.

"What happened after she wished for you?" Lucis asked. "You appeared and didn't manage to drive her into insanity? How would she have known to even wish for something like that, Jareth? It seems rather sudden for her to have done such a thing if you say this all started to happen only three nights ago."

"She's been dreaming about me for seven years, Lucis," I asserted.

"Regardless, she probably only thought you were a figment of her imagination. So you, what? Tempted her? Seduced and manipulated her into wishing for you to show up in the flesh? Humans are fragile creatures, Jareth. Their minds work differently. You meddled."

"I merely moved things along at a faster pace, despite not wanting to originally," I countered. "After I spoke to the Labyrinth, I told myself I'd be patient but…"

"We all know you don't understand that term, Jareth." Lucis sighed. "I understand though- you've been longing for her since she ran the maze and you couldn't wait another minute till you had her in your arms again," he said rather mockingly. "How did she handle the series of events?"

I let out a small laugh. "She slapped me."

"Good," Lucis chuckled. "I like her already. Have you two spoken about everything?"

"Briefly," I said. "I tried telling her what I could. I left her home not too long ago, in fact. Ran into her lovely ex-mate too."

Lucis raised one eyebrow. "That couldn't have gone over well."

"We became best friends, what are you talking about?" I answered with a snicker.

"I'm sure you did. When will you see her again?" Lucis asked me.

I sighed again. "However long it takes for her to come to terms with everything. I interfered with that before, I shan't do it again."

"And if she calls for you in her dreams?" Lucis inquired.

"Then I have no choice but to indulge in her wish. I will do my best to refrain from certain… _activities_ though, if that is what you are suggesting."

"Good luck with that," Lucis said. He went back to the pillar to grab the responses and stared at them for several seconds before he turned to me again. "Despite how odd this all is, I'm delighted to hear that Lady Sarah is within reach again, Jareth. I know how much she means to you. Perhaps…you can invite her to the Fall Festival?"

My ears twitched as Lucis said this. It wasn't a half bad idea. The ball was in nearly two months' time, surely Sarah would have processed everything by then. I hoped, anyway…

"That's not a bad idea, Lucis, thank you. I will be sure to send her an invite."

"Wonderful!" Lucis exclaimed. "Need I also remind you that we have a meeting with Lady Alina soon for the décor? I know you despise doing stuff like this, but seeing as you're the host I'm afraid it is rather important you show up."

I waved my hand passively at Lucis, indicating that I'd be there even though he was right- I abhorred such silly notions. The only reason I was even partaking in this trivial event was to keep the rest of the royals and their people happy. Damn politics. No one even likes the south anyway, they always complained it was too… _southern._ Whatever the hell that means.

"I shall fetch you in several hours then, your highness," Lucis told me.

"Why must you always be so formal, Lucis? We've known each other since we were children," I said.

"Habit, old friend. I will you soon." And with that he left me alone again to think over everything.

* * *

 **SARAH**

It was raining outside when I stepped out of my apartment, making the New York City air even more humid than usual. I trudged as fast as I could in the rain to the psychic store to talk to Angel. I probably should have called her to let her know I was coming and make sure she was there, but I didn't want to waste time. I needed to talk to her about everything that transpired, and I hoped to god she'd believe me. She had to- she's the one who practically foretold all of it after all.

I reached the store about thirty minutes later and I was sopping wet. Why I didn't bring an umbrella confounds me; my mind must be totally disheveled right now. I walked in and looked around the shop, scanning to see if Angel was here. I suddenly felt something brush against my leg, making me jump and I looked down to see a black cat.

"That's Phoebe," said a familiar voice. "The store cat."

I looked back up and saw – thank goodness – Angel walking towards me. She was wearing a similar outfit to the one I saw her in yesterday, only instead of purple, her getup included a lot of green, making her black hair pop. I stepped away from the cat, which had rolled onto its side at this point, clearly wanting my attention.

"Cute," I replied, not totally meaning it. Cats, especially black ones, weren't really my favorite.

"I wasn't expecting you back so soon, Sarah," Angel told me.

"Yeah, sorry to just barge in on you like this, but I needed to talk to someone. Are… uh, are you free?" I asked.

Angel turned her head to look at the large clock that was hung near the cash register and faced me again, smiling. "Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Look at you, you're all wet dear. Come, follow me."

Angel grabbed my hand and let me to the back of the store. I was shivering at this point, not only from being anxious, but this store was beyond freezing and I was soaked. She gave me a towel and took off a black t-shirt from one of the shelves and handed it to me. I thanked her and changed out of my wet top into the dry one she provided. I then used the towel to try my hair as much as I could, and put it in a braid to keep it away from my face. Once I was somewhat decent again, I handed her the towel back and she studied me.

"Is everything okay?" Angel asked me as she took the towel from my hand.

"Um. I don't know to be honest," I admitted. "Can we sit somewhere?"

"Of course, let's go back into the tarot room," Angel said and led me into the same room where she performed yesterday's reading.

We both sat down and I once again had no idea what to say. I found myself doing that a lot lately- becoming speechless. Luckily, Angel broke the ice first.

"So what troubles you, Sarah? I can sense that you've gone through something…peculiar."

I had to laugh at that, but it more of a manic laugh than anything. "You have no idea," I told her.

"Well, would you like to try and explain it to me?" she said in a calming voice.

I let out a sigh and started shaking my head nervously, for I had no idea where to start. I suppose just putting it right out there was the best place to begin.

"My dream came to life," I said point blank, putting my hands on my mouth. There, I had said it. I waited for Angel to say something, but she just stared at me, making me think I had made a horrible decision in coming here and telling her this.

Just when I was about to lose hope she spoke. "What do you mean by that, Sarah?"

Maybe I should switch gears, I thought. "Okay, do you know…anything about the Fae? Or something called…the Underground?"

Angel gave me a weird smile just then, like her life had just been made by my question. "The Underground, huh? Sit tight, Sarah."

She got up from her seat, and I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering where she was going. _Hello, having a mental breakdown over here! Need assistance!_ I shook my legs in anticipation and Angel came back a couple of minutes later, holding a rather small looking book. She set it down on the table, and dust was sputtered everywhere, causing me to wave my hand back and forth in front of my face. The damn thing was as old as Zeus.

"What's this?" I asked.

"This…," Angel began. "Is a little mythology book Sarah, containing information about what you just mentioned: The Underground. I'm going to give this to you to read but…how did you come to hear about this place? Hardly anyone knows about it. It is a _myth_ after all," she finished saying with some sarcasm laced in her voice, as if trying to test me.

"Uh…would you believe me if I told you?" I asked, letting out a nervous laugh and then gulped.

Angel continued to just smile at me. "I've heard of many strange things, Sarah. Not much surprises me, and I've always prided myself on believing the unbelievable or things that may seem…impossible."

 _I guess that explains her day job then._ I chastised myself for thinking that; I should be grateful that someone like her would even consider believing me. She gave me a look that indicated I should be forthcoming and she was willing to listen. I took a deep breath and started telling her _everything._ I went over the entirety of my dreams briefly again and how they made me think there was a void in my life, then I recapped our reading from yesterday and how it led me to feeling inspired and bold in my recent dream with Jareth. I then told her all about him and that he sprang to life shortly after that dream, which led to… _things_ and the conversation we had afterwards. I lastly told her about Paul and him showing up unexpectedly, and this morning's recent events.

When I was done, my mouth felt parched from talking so much. God it felt good to say all of that to someone else. Especially someone who wouldn't try and send me to the loony bin. Hopefully. Angel looked at me inquisitively and I once again had a feeling of regret wash over me, like I shouldn't have ever said anything.

"Well, Sarah," she finally said. "That is… quite the series of events. Just so I have this straight: the man whom you've been dreaming about for seven years showed up in reality after you confronted and wished for him; the two of you had relations; and he explained that he is Fae and the Goblin King from the Underground whom you met when you were fifteen…but your memories of this ordeal are gone. Do I have that correct?"

"Yeah, and then Paul showed up and all that good stuff," I said hastily.

"Hmm. Can I ask you a bit about Paul?" Angel asked out of the blue. "I need to understand how he plays a role in this."

"Plays a role? What do you mean?" I wanted to know.

"You said you started having these dreams seven years ago; when you started dating him. Is that correct?"

"Yeah…"

"So tell me about him," Angel probed.

"Uh, okay. Um..." _Where to start?_ "He's my age. He's…very good looking. Really smart. Outgoing. Funny. He's going to law school right now. He's very type A personality. Charming…I don't know. Like I told you, he cheated on me, so he isn't that great even though he sounds like it. He's really good at making you feel important, but it's only because he needs something from you. He uses people. And he'd step all over anyone to get to the top. He manipulates very well."

"So why did you stay with him for that many years if he was like that?" Angel asked me.

"Because he was great in the beginning and I thought I loved him," I tried rationalizing. "He was my first boyfriend and the person I lost my virginity to, so…he mattered to me."

"Interesting," was all Angel said.

"What's so interesting about that?"

"Well...," Angel began. "It seems a little coincidental to me that your dreams of – may I just call him 'Jay?' – began when you offered your heart to someone else. It's almost as though you were fighting against yourself in some way…like you knew you had forgotten something and you needed a reminder. A reminder that your heart was not with the right soul."

I gulped and Angel continued. "You said _Jay_ explained the strength of your willpower and how that was the reason your dreams of him came to be. It makes sense, Sarah. You were waging an internal battle with yourself to help you remember. While your willpower helped a little bit, it couldn't fully outdo the spell that he placed, but…it did something. And now look where you are. Once you and Paul broke up you found further strength to say Jay's name out loud, causing you to try harder to understand who he was. I find it to be hopelessly romantic if I do say so myself. You're in love with him. You just haven't fully realized it yet."

I couldn't believe what Angel had just told me. Love? How could I love Jareth? I hardly knew him. And after kidnapping my brother when I was only fifteen and making me run a maze, I highly doubt I'd fall in love with someone like that. Right?

"That's impossible, Angel," I said. "Even if I were in love with Jareth…which I'm not…it would be a part of me that I have no idea even exists. I don't remember meeting him, and it's almost like there's another side to myself that I'm not familiar with. I don't know that girl."

"That doesn't matter, Sarah," Angel said grabbing my hand. "What matters is that it was still _you_ who ran the Labyrinth and met Jay. Even though you can't remember it, it did happen and your unconscious mind remembers it through _that_ ," she said pointing to my heart. "Have you thought about asking him for your memories back?"

"Yes, of course I have," I answered. "But I'm not sure I want to. I mean…a part of me does, but. I don't know, I think it would confuse me more. It'd be like reliving an entirely different me."

"I think you'd be surprised, Sarah. Give it some thought. I don't think it would do much to alter your perception of things like you think it would. In fact, I think it will give you clarity to everything and would help you come to terms with all of this. Right now you're trying to swim in an empty sea, and I'd imagine that would leave anyone to feel…mentally exhausted. Think about it, alright? It could bring you two closer. In the meantime…read that book I gave you. There should be a section that discusses the Underground, I remember stumbling upon it years ago. Maybe that will further entice you to want your memories back. It sounds like _such_ a fascinating place."

I took the book off the table and looked at it. It couldn't hurt, right? I sat up from my chair and walked over to Angel to hug her.

"Thank you so much. For everything. For listening, for believing in me and not thinking I'm bat shit crazy. Seriously, I'd probably go crazy if I didn't have someone to talk to," I finished saying with a nervous laugh.

Angel gave me a look of gratitude as she pulled back from the hug and held onto my shoulders with both hands. "You're a strong woman, Sarah. Like I told you yesterday – open yourself up to the possibilities. It sounds to me like this _Jay_ fellow is _the one._ I'll be here if you ever need anything."

I rolled my eyes but smiled at the same time. We said our goodbyes and I felt a million times better after talking to Angel. When I stepped outside, the rain had stopped and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, breathing in that after rain smell. _It smells like Jareth._ My eyes sprang back open from my thoughts of him. _Oh Jareth, what to do with you?_ Angel seemed to be a huge advocate of him. What was up with her wanting to call him Jay? I still wasn't sure why she believed me so easily or how she even knew about the Underground. She had read about it, she said? So random and so…odd. Oh well, I suppose it's a good thing otherwise I'd for sure go crazy. I shrugged and began my walk back home to read the silly book Angel had given me.

* * *

 **JARETH**

I so badly wanted to kick a goblin in this moment. Lady Alina wouldn't stop talking to me and Lucis about the damn décor for my ballroom. Well, she was mainly talking to Lucis seeing as I had checked out long ago. I couldn't help but wonder what Sarah was doing, and it had only been several hours since I saw her last. I tried ignoring the fact that I detected her saying my name at some point during the day, my senses immediately being drawn towards her. She must have been talking about me to _someone;_ that friend Alexa of hers perhaps? The thought of her talking about me made me smile.

"What do you think, your majesty?"

I broke out of the daze I was in and turned to Lady Alina who had just seemingly asked me a question, but of course I didn't hear her. "Yes, that would be marvelous Alina. I trust that anything you do to the ballroom will look magnificent."

I turned to Lucis, who had his brows furrowed and a smile on his face indicating he knew where my mind was at. I cleared my throat and walked towards Alina to finalize the details so she could leave quicker. I asked to see the papers she held in her hand and hurriedly read through the plans.

"This all looks fantastic," I told Alina. "Any final suggestions?"

Alina not so subtlety grazed my hand with hers as she took her papers from me and fluttered her eyelashes as she attempted to give me a smoldering gaze. "Perhaps we could discuss any final issues over some tea? Maybe somewhere, _private_?"

I had expected Alina to come on to me at some point in the day, seeing as we've shared some intimate times in the past. It just so happens that she's the best party planner nearby. Only now, the thought of fornicating with her made my stomach curl. While she was quite beautiful with her long auburn hair and blue eyes, I simply did not wish to bed anyone else. I told myself I'd try and be celibate until the day came when Sarah was ready to accept everything. I just hoped I wasn't being too optimistic in that regard.

I smiled appreciatively to Alina. "While that sounds…enticing, I'm afraid I have much to do today, Lady Alina. Perhaps some other time." She didn't hide her disappoint very well but what could she do?

"I understand, your majesty," she said. "I'm glad you're happy with the design plans. I will be back in four weeks' time to begin setting up. Perhaps we can talk then?" she asked in a hopeful voice.

Gods, she was relentless. "Yes, perhaps. Allow me to escort you out." I offered my elbow and she happily took it. I should have never been intimate with her, she was much too young for a Fae and was being exceptionally needy; not something I needed to deal with.

Once she was gone, Lucis found me walking back towards my study room and started laughing. "Oh, that was too rich. Poor Lady Alina, if only she knew. She looked so disheartened when you turned her down," he told me. "I never would have thought you of all people would say no to an opportunity for sex."

"Yes well, given the circumstances I think it's best to keep it in my breeches," I said.

"The circumstances that had you completely and wholly distracted during our meeting with Alina?" Lucis asked. "For all you know your ballroom will end up looking like a circus and you just agreed to it."

"If Alina ever wants to have another _private_ moment with me, she knows better than to do something like that. Her skills as a decorator are without a doubt superb. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to be left alone. Too much talking today."

I saw Lucis slightly roll his eyes as I walked past him to retreat to my study room. Once I got there I sat in my chair and desperately wanted to see what Sarah was up to, but I refused to intervene. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself when she told me I had been 'creepy' looking in on her through my crystals. She had no idea the kind of hold she had on me. I hoped I hadn't made a mistake by allowing her time to herself. I was sure this was the best way to go about things, but I hated not knowing what the outcome would be. I sincerely hoped everything would work out. It just had to.

I sighed and began the writing personal invitation to Sarah regarding the Fall Festival. I contemplated whether or not I should pour my feelings out into the letter or if I should just keep it simple. I went with the latter, for I refused to have her further 'creeped' out by my actions. When I was finally satisfied with what seemed like my tenth draft, I could hardly wait to send the invite to her. Time better fly by.

* * *

 **SARAH**

Later that night, after I got ready for bed and comfortable in my sheets, I started reading the book Angel lent to me. I still found it so weird that she just happened to have a book on the Underground; who wrote this thing anyway? I looked at the book from cover to back, trying to decipher the author, but there wasn't one found. _Whatever._

I flipped through the pages until I found the section that discussed what I was looking for: The Underground. I started reading.

 _'The Underground is said to have been the dwelling place of the gods, comparable to the myths of Mount Olympus. Legend has it that the Underground was initially separated into eight kingdoms, though sometime later a ninth one was created near the northeast to maintain the peace. Each kingdom had its own ruler in this realm, and many people believed that the castles in the Underground were similar in design to those of their own nobility. The Underground could be reached from earth only for those who were touched by its magic or if they knew where the veil – leading straight to the heart of the Underground – was thinnest. Some believe that Ireland is where this veil can be found, but of course, no human has ever actually verified this._

 _To the cultures of earth, the Underground is mysterious, magical, primal, and terrifying. One of the many beings in the Underground are Fae_ ; _supreme beings which encompass a vast majority of the population within the realm. Fae are known to be alluring, sensual, and tricksters. They are not allowed to lie, but can withhold information or omit certain things to avoid telling the entire truth. Their powers range from mild to extremely powerful, and it is said that anyone who has ruled, or currently rules, over the southern kingdom contains the most sought after power due to their connection with the Labyrinth. It also said the southern kingdom was known to rule the Underground for millenniums because of their connection to the said entity until the Great War broke out, for many were tiring of the manic rulers over the years; hence why a ninth kingdom was created. Other beings here include elves, dwarves, trolls, goblins, nymphs, centaurs, and several more._

 _This realm is also said to consist of many other deadly yet exotic creatures as well, like shadow wraiths, unicorns, dragons, pixies, and more_. _Other than the richness of varying colors, the trees resemble those of earth. They have the familiar trunks, branches and leaves, though due to the magic they contain, they might as well be alive. The trees and plant life of the Underground have formed connections between their roots and effectively act as neurons, creating a 'brain' of sorts that has achieved sentience, which is known to the beings of the Underground as the Labyrinth, which was mentioned briefly above._

 _The Labyrinth is the guiding force and deity of the Underground. The beings there believe that the Labyrinth acts to keep the ecosystem of the Underground in perfect equilibrium. It is sometimes theorized that all living things in the Underground connect to the Labyrinth through a neuro-system; this often explains why the beings dwelling in this realm have such a strong connection with nature and other creatures residing there. The Labyrinth is extremely powerful and exists in the southern region. It has existed since the dawn of time and can only be ruled and watched over by a powerful Fae. Because it was born in the southern region of the Underground, the king ruling there became the Supreme Being throughout the lands, though this changed years later._

 _There are many who exist in the Underground who still believe that their world should be ruled over by a Fae who is a direct descendant from the original bloodline of rulers over the Labyrinth. After the Great War ended, there were many who would not pledge their allegiance and loyalty to the new High King and Queen and were hence banished to live an immortal life Aboveground, never being able to return below again._

 _The new rulers of the southern kingdom began when…'_

What the hell? The rest was scribbled out and I turned to the next page and it look as though several pages had been torn out. Why the hell would Angel give me this if there were pages missing? It seemed to start going into the history of the kingdoms, but now I'd never know! So far all this information sounded remotely similar to what Jareth told me, with the exception of a few more small details. This only gave me more of a reason to talk to him at some point so I could learn more. I was surprised at myself for even considering wanting to learn more.

I still couldn't believe that Jareth ruled over a kingdom that had such a huge responsibility to his entire world, yet he wasn't the big man on campus. I suppose it made sense though…everyone fears someone else who has too much control and power. I wonder if his fellow beings hate him because of his stature. It seems like many would, but then again maybe they wouldn't because of the responsibility that comes with his position. He has to rule over the Labyrinth _and_ manage wished away kids? Good god. I guess only someone thirsty for power would want that position.

I closed the book, still miffed that pages were missing. Maybe I'd ask Angel where the heck they went off to. I became incredibly tired all of a sudden and told myself I should go to bed since I had to go into work tomorrow for real. _Ugh._ This week would definitely be a painful one to say the least.

* * *

 **I know, I know. No further romance and fluff between S+J yet, but I promise it's coming. Sometimes a story just needs more characters and additional information to keep things interesting, ya know? Stay tuned, next chapter will be fun, yay!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**SARAH**

 **Sunday morning, 6 days after last seeing Jareth**

Six days. It had been six days since I last spoke to Jareth. This week had gone by incredibly – and surprisingly – fast despite that fact. After going back to work on Tuesday, my mind had been totally occupied with case filings and opinion letters. I even made an effort to stay later at work and do late night workouts just to keep myself busy so I didn't think about him too much. Once Friday came around though, I knew I needed to do something over the weekend to continue staying busy, so I went out with some coworkers Friday night. We had gone to this new bar and watched a band play, but things got weird when Brandon, one of my coworkers, was relentlessly hitting on me. Needless to say I left shortly after his three failed attempts. Then yesterday I hung out with my mom who had been persistently trying to reach me for a week. That woman drives me nuts, but it was nice seeing her.

Now it was Sunday morning and with nothing to do, I took into account that it had officially been an entire week since Jareth appeared to me in person. I didn't even dream about him this week either, which left me feeling… crestfallen. I thought about calling Alexa and asking her to hang out, but she's probably just now leaving work and I wasn't ready to divulge any of this information to her yet. How would I explain this? I could call my other friends, but I really wasn't in the mood to socialize with anyone else anyway, and it was Sunday- everyone's lazy day.

Sighing, I picked up that book Angel let me borrow again and re-read the part discussing the Underground. I still wanted to know what happened to those missing pages and who wrote the damn thing. I'd have to ask Jareth when I saw him next, surely he could tell me more about the kingdoms. It was absolutely crazy to think that all these magical beings and creatures existed. I mean, unicorns? Seriously? Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought any of this would really be possible. I set the book down, and closed my eyes. I traced my lips with my fingertips, remembering Jareth's kisses last Sunday and the way he had touched me. It was the most exquisite feeling I've ever felt, and I so badly wanted to feel that again with him, even though I had a meltdown afterwards. I was just scared; scared to face him, scared to face everything. I still couldn't comprehend Angel suggesting that I was in love with Jareth either.

How could I be? I knew I had deep-seated feelings for him, though I didn't know how or when that happened. I especially wasn't sure how to navigate those feelings or go about them. What did I feel for Jareth exactly? I knew I was painstakingly attracted to him; I was curious about him; and I even sort of…missed him. I missed dreaming about him and looking forward to those dreams. Now that he was really here, all I needed to do was call for him, so why hadn't I? I wasn't mad over anything anymore, I wasn't _as_ in shock; I know a part of me will always find this entire situation odd to say the least, but I wasn't as flabbergasted about it any longer. Especially after talking to Angel who believed in all this, so that helped settle my uneasiness a lot.

Nervousness and pride were holding me back I decided. I was still a little annoyed that Jareth had left me so abruptly this past Monday, so in a sense I felt I was punishing him. _You wanted this, you got this, Jareth._ But by doing that, I was also punishing myself, because I really did want to see him. He mesmerized me just as much as he perplexed me. _Just do it, Sarah. Call for him!_ I shoved my face into my pillow, telling myself to zip it and concentrate on _me_ and _my_ mental needs like Jareth recommended. But my physical needs were getting antsy too, especially when I thought about how amazing he was at…

UGH. I shook myself of the thought and got out of bed to put some workout clothes on. I'd run all this physical angst and lust out of me if I had to. With that, I left my apartment.

* * *

 **JARETH**

 **Monday night, 7 days since Jareth last saw Sarah**

"It's been a week and she _still_ hasn't called out for me or even dreamt about me, Lucis. A week!" I yelled. "I'm going out of my mind, I can't stand this."

Lucis rubbed his temples with his fingers as I kept going on about Sarah. "These things do take time, Jareth. You shouldn't be surprised if this takes at least a month or longer. Give the girl some room to breathe, good lord. It was you after all who told her to take time to herself, was it not?"

"Yes, but I thought that would help my case, not put more of a wedge between us," I admitted.

Lucis lowered his head, eyes narrowing in on me. "So…you didn't mean it when you said she needed time?"

"Of course I did," I responded. "But I thought maybe a day or two would suffice."

Rolling his eyes, Lucis replied, "Oh gods. You certainly know your way with women. Maybe you should ask your mother for advice."

I scoffed at Lucis' comment. My mother was too busy sipping tea with those confounded and vain Fae up in the capital. If I told her about Sarah now, she'd spread the gossip around like wildfire. That woman couldn't keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it.

"Absolutely not," I retorted. "That would woman could make a saint swear. I refuse to tell her anything right now. No, I'll hold off until the Fall Festival."

"Why are you so hard on your mother, Jareth?" Lucis asked me. "She's the only remaining family you have left."

"She didn't even wish to stay in this kingdom, Lucis. Not to support me, you, or the other subjects here. Not that there a lot, of course, but regardless. She needs to be around superfluous Fae and materialistic…things. She drives me mad."

"Yes, I suppose so," Lucis agreed. "But she loves you, you know that. You know what would cheer you up? Some Goblin Ale. Let's go down to the village and get some, shall we? A few drinks will help you to forget about Sarah for now."

It wasn't a bad idea. Getting drunk actually made sense.

"What do you say?" Lucis continued to probe.

"Fine," I agreed. "You convinced me."

Lucis raised his eyebrows. "That wasn't difficult. Did you really need convincing?"

"Not particularly."

* * *

 **SARAH**

 **Thursday night, 10 days after last seeing Jareth**

Four days later and I _still_ hadn't called out to Jareth or had any dreams of him. It had officially been ten days since I last saw him, and I know Jareth is probably chewing off his nails by now. I know I have been. I didn't want to treat this as a game per se, but another part of me wanted to play hard to get, just for a little longer. Was that immature of me? Most definitely. But it really had given me time to get past the weirdness, though that may change when I see him again, and that's still another reason I've been reluctant to reach out. Would I feel overwhelmed again? I couldn't be sure. I thought about my memories more, and I was feeling more confident that I would end up asking for them at some point. It was like going to the dentist office, you knew you had to do it but you kept putting it off. All I know is that sneaky and beautiful bastard better not be spying on me through one of his weird orb things. I swear if he is…

As I sat in my living room thinking about all this, I heard a knock at my door. I got up reluctantly and opened it, only to find no one there. I looked around and then down at the floor, and saw a white envelope that was sealed with wax. I scrunched my eyebrows and picked it up. Opening the envelope, I walked back inside and took out the handwritten letter.

' _Dearest Sarah-_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. I am aware that you are taking time to yourself to process everything that has occurred in recent days, so I apologize if this upsets you in anyway. That is not my intention, for I am hopeful that you are faring well. I have been thinking about you every day since I last saw you, and I sincerely hope that someday soon you will feel comfortable enough to be in my presence again._

 _In the meantime, I would like to extend to you an invite to the Fall Festival that my kingdom is holding in nearly two months' time. It is held every October and I got the lucky roll of the dice to host it this year. I would be honored to have you beside me that evening, if you'll have me. I fully understand if this is something you are not ready for, but should you wish to come, I would love nothing more than to have you by my side._

 _Please do not feel pressured to give me an answer right away; I will wait as long as I need to until you are ready to talk. Until then, please keep me in your thoughts. It is utter torment to be down here and not know what is going through your mind. I only hope that you are alright, and I cannot wait until the day comes when I can see you again._

 _Be well, Sarah._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Jareth'_

I held the letter against my chest. A ball? He wants to take _me_ to a ball? I felt giddy to know that Jareth had indeed been thinking about me and missed me. _And_ he wanted me as his date to some fancy shindig! But, oh god- that meant being around his people and everything. I could hardly grasp the concept of one Fae existing, but a whole lot of them and other types of beings? Holy moly. What to do, what to do…right when I feel somewhat comfortable with one thing, the rug gets dragged out from under me. I sighed. Oh Jareth, you complicated male. How much longer can I resist the forbidden fruit?

* * *

 **JARETH**

 **Saturday afternoon, 12 days since he last saw Sarah**

"Damnit! That woman is driving me mad!" I said as I paced in my throne room. The goblins looked at me in confusion, for they had no idea what or who had been plaguing my mind these long and miserable days. Twelve days had never felt so long, and it felt even longer here since time moved at a bit of a slower pace in the Underground.

"What's wrong with kingy?" I overheard one of the goblins ask their counterparts.

"Maybe he's come down with gastroenteritis," one replied.

"Wouldn't him be in pain if that were the case?" another asked.

"Perhaps hims found out he is dying! Oh, no!" said a fourth goblin.

"What's gastroenteritis?" added a fifth voice.

"Oh for Gods sake, quiet, all of you!" I exclaimed. "I'm not sick, I'm not dying, and I don't have the flu of any sort. I'm merely feeling…discouraged about a certain person."

"Ohhh," they all mumbled at the same time.

I plopped down in my throne chair, and brought my hand to my forehead, tapping my riding crop against the ground with the other. I was losing my mind; I hadn't even peeked at Sarah from one of my crystals since I saw her last. I thought about it many times, but she'd surely be displeased with me if I admitted to spying on her. I had no choice but to resist the urge.

"Does kingy wish for us to pester someone?" one of the goblins asked me.

"No, Boogle, I don't. Why don't you all just go play a game, hmm?" I suggested.

Nodding eagerly, he got the rest of the goblins together and they left the throne room to go play some obnoxious game of theirs. I had a court meeting on Monday, and I had no idea how I was to pay attention when Sarah consumed my mind. Why hadn't she called for me yet? I hope she wasn't through with me…the thought of such a thing pained me. _How you turn my world, you precious thing._

* * *

 **SARAH**

 **Saturday night, 12 days she last saw Jareth**

"Yes, dad, I'm doing much better. I've been keeping myself busy and I told Paul to fuck off almost two weeks ago when the idiot came crawling back to me," I said to my dad on the phone.

"Language, Sarah," my dad rebuked.

"Oh please. I grew up in a house filled with cussing, what do you expect from me?" I said laughing.

"Uh huh," my dad mumbled. "I'm glad you had words with that punk. You sound much better which makes me happy."

"I am happy. I think good things are coming my way," I said.

"That goes without saying, honey. I'm sorry to cut the conversation short, but Karen needs me to start the grill, so I'll call you next week. Love you," my dad expressed.

"Alright, tell Karen and Toby I say hi and I love them. Bye dad."

I hung up the phone and sipped some more of my wine, feeling incredibly antsy tonight. I wasn't sure if it was the wine or the fact that I had been indulging in some erotic videos these past few days, but my libido was out of control and I was hanging on by a thin thread at this point concerning Jareth. I wasn't going to last much longer, I knew it. I told myself I would allow three more days at most. I finished my wine and strolled into my room where I found my handy dandy electronic boyfriend. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. I wonder what Jareth was doing tonight...

* * *

 **JARETH**

 **Monday morning, 14 days since he last saw Sarah**

As I sat in court, all I could think about was Sarah, which I knew would happen. Fourteen days and still nothing. That is a long time; that's three hundred and thirty-six hours to think about everything, surely that's enough? I could be with her right now if she just stopped being stubborn, but alas, I'm stuck in this confounded meeting that will never end. I looked around at the blubbering fools around me, each one so seemingly passionate about the well-being of their respective kingdoms. I never understood the point of having these monthly affairs. We were quite literally discussing who would be the next to hold some type of event in their kingdom, as if that really mattered. I had better things to do than sit here and listen to these bureaucrats and their silly occasions.

"What say you, Jareth?"

I turned to the High Queen Merethyl who sat beside her ever charming and pompous husband, High King Ivlisar. "What do I think about Orion hosting the Yule Ball in several months? I think it's a _splendid_ idea, since his kingdom resides in the north; so appropriate." Facing Orion now I asked him, "How are things in the frigid cold, my _friend_?"

I detested Orion and he knew it. He was even more arrogant than most Fae and ruled in the northern part of the Underground. Like me, he was queen-less. I always found it to be quite hilarious that the south had a bad reputation, but the north? It was desolate, cold, and was home to many undesirable creatures. I never understood how someone like him managed to be king, but it wasn't worth my time to question it too much.

"Frigid. And cold," Orion responded with a smile on his face. "I'd ask how your kingdom is faring, but considering the rest of the Underground is alive and well, I suspect you must be doing _something_ right down there in that god forsaken heat."

I always got the feeling Orion hated me for the fact I ruled in the south, even though he pretended to hate that region. "Oh it's not so bad down there. I'd imagine when you're kept away from the rest of the world in arctic conditions though, anything other than the conditions you're used to would be deemed as too much. You should come down and visit more often, Orion; you're looking a little weary these days, perhaps a holiday would do you good."

"I'll kindly pass, _Jareth,_ and will only be there for the Fall Festival," Orion snapped.

I merely smiled at him, and court wrapped up several minutes later. All court members were telling me how anxious they were for the festival and I wanted to roll my eyes at each and every one of them. Lucis raised his eyebrows at me once I was free of being accosted, indicating he saw the tension earlier between Orion and myself. We sifted back to the Goblin Kingdom and rather than talk to Lucis about anything, I went straight to my study to keep my mind occupied from Sarah. What the hell had she been doing these past two weeks? I'm losing my patience by the second.

* * *

 **SARAH**

 **Monday night, 14 days after J+S last saw each other  
**

Restless. I was totally and completely restless, more so than I had been since the dreams started getting weird. It had now officially been two weeks since I last saw Jareth, and it had gone by so slow and fast at the same time; I couldn't even remember what I had done to keep my mind occupied these past two weeks. I was baffled that I still hadn't had a single dream about him since I saw him last, and I wondered why that was. I definitely couldn't keep this tough girl act up for much longer, I realized. I hardly knew him, yet I ached for him and I wasn't sure how that came to be. He had turned my world upside down. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'd call for him.

I took a deep breath and tried to focus on my breathing to help clear my mind so I could sleep, and I attempted to concentrate on one thing. After what seemed like several minutes, my mind eventually conjured up a flower; it was soft pink and had five petals. I focused on that single flower and all of a sudden, the one flower turned into two, then three, and before I knew it, I was looking at a blossoming tree of pink flowers in a meadow of sorts. It looked like…a peach tree in the spring? As I was looking at the tree, I felt something soft and fuzzy in my hand. I looked down and a perfect looking peach was sitting in it. I furrowed my brows; I had hated peaches since I was fifteen, though I never understood why.

I dropped it from my hand and when I looked back up, I instantly realized I had to have been dreaming because I was suddenly in that damn ballroom again, wearing the same dress I was always in- a puffy, white dress with a hint of pink and other pastel colors. _Now I'm having a dream about him. Right when I tell myself I'm calling for Jareth tomorrow, how convenient._ I hadn't had this particular dream in a while though, for the last few times it began and ended in a forest or was in my own bed. This however, was familiar; this was the most common setting. I looked around and looked and looked but…no Jareth. What the hell? Why isn't he here? He's always here. _I wish he was here anyway_ …

Two strong hands held my waist from behind mere seconds later and relief washed over me. "Your wish is my command, as always Precious," came the tantalizing voice that made my ears twitch.

I turned slowly to face Jareth and I just stared at him, taking him all in. How could someone look so masculine and feminine at the same time? I'd never known anyone to be so breathtakingly beautiful. I knew this was really him too, not just dream Jareth. He was speaking to me after all. "What took you so long?" I finally asked.

He smiled at me. "Circumstances," he said in a somewhat joking tone.

I had to roll my eyes and smirked. "I hate when you say that. Seriously, where have you been?"

"I might ask you the same question, Precious," Jareth responded. "You can't call for me in reality, but find the most inopportune times to do it _here._ Which has taken you a while, might I add. Have I not been on your mind enough?" he finished saying with a grin.

He'd been on my mind most every day, but I wasn't going to admit that. "I guess you didn't leave that big of an impression on me, almighty Goblin King," I said in jest.

Jareth narrowed his eyes and grinned at me. "Is that so? Well then. Perhaps I should find a better way to…leaving a lasting _impression_ on you then, _Sarah dearest._ "

I took a step back, trying to avoid the faceless people that were around us. "You can certainly try," I said testing him. "Though I can't promise it'll work. I'm hard to impress, you see."

"I'm sure I can think of something," Jareth countered as he walked towards me, until his face was mere inches away from mine.

I gulped, unsure if I was ready to go down this road again. If I were going to do this…I needed to be ready to face him afterwards and be okay with everything. Having him here with me made me recognize that I _had_ missed him, and I was done waiting. I just needed him.

"Well, then you'd better get started," I whispered.

Jareth didn't say another word. He reached for me and his hands were greedily over my waist, his body pressing into me, and his mouth came down on mine as he pushed me back deeper and deeper into a corner of the ballroom. My head swam with lust and pleasure as Jareth kissed me hard and hungrily, seemingly needing to drink me all in. After weeks of strange longing and confusion, I needed him again- completely.

"I want you," I told him, as I pulled away from Jareth's mouth.

He trailed soft kisses down my jaw and neck, until he reached the peak of my breasts that swelled out from the tightness of the dress.

"Do you?" he sought to know.

"Yes. But not here," I stated.

Jareth kissed me once more lightly on my neck before peering back into my eyes. "Say your right words then, Sarah. I have to know you mean it."

I blinked a few times and breathed heavily; this was really going to happen. And I wasn't going to be a coward this time. "I…I wish you were really here with me right now in my apartment."

Jareth growled and engulfed me; that cold feeling sweeping over me again as it did last time. My eyes suddenly blinked open and I was awakening in my own bed, but…where was Jareth? I sat up abruptly and didn't understand…I just wished for him, damnit! Why isn't he in bed with me? I sprung out of bed and left my bedroom to walk into the living room, but still no sign of him. I was vaguely aware of the fact that my thin and creamy tank top left nothing to the imagination, and I was wearing incredibly tiny shorts.

"Jareth?" I asked out loud.

"Over here, Sarah," he said in a playful voice.

I did a three-sixty spin and went back into my room where I saw Jareth leaning against my wall, one foot plastered on it, while the other one stood in place. His arms were folded, and he was smirking at me, looking me up and down.

"Weren't you supposed to automatically be in bed with me when I woke up?" I asked, crossing my arms and pouting.

He left the wall and walked over to me, until he was standing a few inches away. "My, my Sarah, is that the kind of greeting I get after not seeing you for so long?" he joked.

I dropped my arms, feeling a little rude from my outburst and he sighed. "Sarah, I didn't want to alarm you like last time. Rather than simply… _ravish_ you right away like you think you wanted, I felt it was best to give you some space when we reappeared here. Believe me, I would love nothing more than to enrapture you, but...I think we should take it slow; I was hoping we could talk before rushing into anything. Rushing didn't work out so well for us before."

Well, that made sense. And here I was just hoping to get right into things. I blushed feeling a little embarrassed, and I hoped he didn't think I was some little tart. "Oh," I said chuckling. "I…I'm sorry. I guess you're right. But you know, things were starting to get good," I reminded him.

He laughed lightly. "I'm getting the feeling you only want me for one reason, Precious. Though I can't say I blame you, I've been known to be completely irresistible."

"You're ridiculous," I said pushing him slightly. He grabbed my hand when I did this, and kissed it gently, making my stomach do cartwheels. How does he have this effect on me?

"And you're torturous," he disputed. "Two weeks it has been. You've certainly kept me on my toes."

"I was planning on calling for you tomorrow, just so you know. But it looks my mind just couldn't wait," I said.

"Thank heavens," Jareth stated. "How have you been?" he then asked me.

I pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear, and cleared my throat. "I've been good. Dazed and confused for the first few days, but I think I'm mostly past all the weird aspects now. Um, how have you been?"

"Just _peachy,_ " he responded with a toothy grin. Was I supposed to get the hidden message behind that? Before I could ask, he began talking again. "Have…have you thought about everything in this amount of time?" he wanted to know, getting serious now.

I bit my lip and toyed with my fingertips, looking down at them. "I think so," I said. "I'll admit, I was kind of miffed with you for leaving me the way you did, but I understand your reasoning for it. You were right- I needed time to accept this and think about my memories. It's all still so weird, don't get me wrong, but…I um…I was given some guidance and clarity on some things so that helped. And as it weird as it may be…I…I sortofmissedyou." I couldn't believe I had admitted that. I hesitantly looked back up to Jareth, and saw his blue eyes, and the one that was so unique with its permanent dilation.

He tilted his head and gave me a look of admiration, that he was glad I had disclosed that. "How could you not? Like I said, irresistible," he said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes and he spoke again. "You've no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that though, Sarah. I've missed you as well. But surely you know that."

I continued to blush, and couldn't help but think how much easier it would be to engage in some physical activity right now than to talk about our feelings, for I still had no clue how to navigate my own. Jareth's were explicitly clear; he cared for me, and was happy that I was here with him again, but I didn't understand my own feelings or how they even came to be. I just knew I was keen on being near him; it brought me comfort and that was enough for me.

"I got your invitation," I said changing the subject.

Raising his eyebrows in curiosity at this change in topic, he said, "Oh? And, what do you think about it?"

"I haven't made up my mind," I admitted. "I just barely accepted _this_ whole situation; I'm scared to think about what else is…out there from your world, so to speak. I'm scared it'll cause me to retract and feel overwhelmed again."

Jareth sighed. "You don't have to give me an answer now, Sarah," he told me. "And if we continue to see each other until the time of the ball, and you still do not feel comfortable, then I would completely understand. Honestly, I sent that invitation mostly because I wanted some form of communication with you, and… I wanted to be on your mind."

 _He was so cute when he was nervous_. "Well…it worked," I pointed out. We sat there in silence for a few minutes and I decided we needed to lighten things up. "How are things down under?" I asked smiling.

"Things down under?" he asked with slight confusion in his voice.

I laughed and said, "Yeah, you know- the ' _Underground_ '." I said the word Underground using air quotes, and it took Jareth a second to get the joke. He chuckled when he understood.

"Things are well, I suppose. There isn't much going on, other than the planning of the festival," Jareth explained.

"I feel like there is a lot more to this place than you let on. Speaking of which, I got this book from a friend…" I didn't finish my sentence as I turned to grab the book from my nightstand. When I picked it up and spun to show Jareth, he was right there causing me to bump into him.

"Shit, sorry. I didn't know you were so close," I said.

"What is this _book_ you are referring to?" Jareth asked, and I could sense some type of unease in his voice.

"It's some type of mythology book, I don't know. A friend let me borrow it, and there's an entire section about the Underground in there, but a bunch of pages are missing from it. It's weird," I responded as I held the book in my hands. "It just gave a brief background on the Underground, some details about a big war, and then how a bunch of a Fae don't agree with the rulers or something. It cut off when it looked like it was about to go into depth regarding the kingdoms. I was hoping you could enlighten me."

Jareth looked down to my hands and furrowed his eyebrows. He took the book out of my hands and examined it front to back before he flipped through the pages. I watched him do this, and I was suddenly worried that I shouldn't have said anything by the way his demeanor changed as soon as I mentioned it.

"Who gave this to you?" he wanted to know.

I took the book back, feeling slightly protective of it since it wasn't mine. "I told you, a friend."

"Which friend?" he urged on.

"You wouldn't know her obviously," I said in an annoyed tone. "Why are you so interested in who gave it to me as opposed to what's written in it?"

"Humor me," was all Jareth said.

I narrowed my eyes, becoming irritated with this conversation. I just wanted to know about the information missing, I didn't realize I would be ridiculed on who gave me the book. I figured I should tell him though, since he clearly wasn't going to give it up. "Her name is Angel. I met her at a psychic shop. She's pretty much the reason all this happened between us and without her I'd be going insane."

"Angel, hmm? And you told this _woman_ everything about yourself? About me? Us?" Jareth asked. "Is this what you meant by receiving guidance and clarity about everything?"

Why was he being so accusatory? Was I supposed to keep this all hush hush? "Did I do something wrong?"I asked. "You're making me feel like I just let Pandora out of the box."

Jareth just stared at me, trying to maintain his composure it seemed. "You didn't answer my question, Precious."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, okay? I told Angel about my dreams concerning you and all that jazz. So yeah, she knows everything. She figured that book would give me some sort of insight as to who you are I guess, and it did help, but I don't think she knew pages were missing. I was hoping you could answer my questions."

Jareth and I looked at each other, neither one about to back down. Who did he think he was questioning me like this? I needed to assert myself here. "Look, you can't just demand answers from me like this, Jareth. We still hardly know each other, and if we're going to continue to get to know one another then you can't act all high and mighty with me and talk to me as though I'm some child. Okay?"

Taking a deep breath before he spoke, Jareth said, "You're right, I'm sorry. I just…I only wish to protect you, and I feel that book wasn't given to you by accident. I'm not sure what the point would be, seeing as pages are indeed missing, but it seems odd that this… _Angel_ woman would believe you so effortlessly."

"That thought isn't lost on me either, you know," I responded. "But I mean, she's into all that tarot stuff and everything, so she's susceptible to believing in a lot of things, and she probably got excited someone mentioned something she was interested in. It is mythology to humans after all, a lot of people study stuff like this. I mean, I love fantasy lore…it's all good Jareth. Even if she told anyone, they wouldn't believe her."

Jareth didn't say anything, and I could tell this conversation was still bothering him. Why, I didn't know. I didn't want to start things off badly between us, especially when I was just having a hot and heavy dream about him.

"Look, can we just forget this for now?" I asked and reached for his hand. "You're here with me, let's make the most of it."

When I took Jareth's hand, he beamed. He looked at me and out of nowhere he asked, "Would you like to go on a date with me, Sarah?"

* * *

 **Date nights are the best nights! So, I struggled with how I wanted their reunion to be. Did I want them to immediately get freaky with each other with all that pent up frustration? Or should they get to know each other a bit more before they rush into things? I went with the latter, because it made more sense to me. But I promise romance and all that good stuff _is_ coming. Like, really soon. Why is Jareth so weirded out with the book, hmm? Please review :)  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**JARETH**

The words left my mouth without me even thinking about it. What exactly did a 'date' entail Above, anyway? I was faintly aware of the term, so I just threw it out there. We didn't call them 'dates' in the Underground; we _courted_ , but how could different could it be? I didn't care about semantics though, I only knew I wanted to get to know Sarah better and even though I could tell she was beginning to trust me, I was certain that spending quality time with her outside her home, which was smaller than my dungeon, would help us get that much closer. Romance wasn't my forte, though I would certainly try with her.

Right when I was about to ask her what she thought of the idea, she smiled and her face reddened. _What is she thinking? Is…is she laughing at me?_ I narrowed my eyes and turned my head slightly, indicating I wasn't sure what her expression meant. Finally she spoke.

"You want me to take me on a date?" she asked rather shyly.

"Yes…Is that so odd?" I questioned back, hands on my hips.

"No, not at all," Sarah answered with a smile. She was rocking back and forth on her tiptoes in some sort of nervous manner. "It's just…I can't picture you at the movies or anything." She paused for a brief second then continued. "Have you…have you taken another human on a date before?" she asked skeptically.

I let out a light and nervous laugh. "No, Precious, I have not. While I've been around humans before many, many times, I've never taken a romantic interest in one. I never really had the opportunity to do so, per the summoning rules and all that… _jazz."_

She laughed when I said this, probably because I sounded silly repeating her human terms, but hearing her laugh because of me made smile; she had the most amazing giggle and it was music to my ears.

"Well in that case, then yes, I would love to go on a date with you," she told me.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. _Thank the Gods, she said yes!_

"How about this Friday?" she then added.

 _Bugger._ "Friday?" I repeated, and I could feel my eyes widen slightly. "You wish to make me wait another four days until I'm able to see you again?" I griped.

She rolled her eyes in a playful way at my moping. "You've held out for this long," she pointed out. "I don't think another four days is going to kill you, Mr. Impatient."

I could tell I probably looked like whiny child, but I was persistent. "Why not tomorrow night?"

"Because I have work tomorrow night and the rest of this week," she explained. "Friday works better and then we don't need to worry about waking up early Saturday morning or anything," she finished saying as she bit her lip.

I wasn't sure if she intended her words to come out that way, but they did not go unnoticed by me- she said _we_ don't need to worry about Saturday morning. Did she wish for me to stay the night without her realizing it? I wasn't about to ask and ruin the possibility, so I simply smiled and conceded.

"Friday then. Friday sounds perfect," I told her. "What shall we do?"

"Hmmm," she debated. "I suggest…going out to a nice dinner and maybe a stroll in Central Park afterwards?"

"Sounds wonderful," I said, even though I had no idea what either would really necessitate.

"It's a plan then," Sarah confirmed. "I can make a dinner reservation for us. Should I, um…should I just call for you on Friday, or…?"

I chuckled softly. "Yes, you may call for me whenever you are ready Friday evening and I will be here to escort you."

"Alright, sounds good," Sarah replied with a small smile.

We stood there rather awkwardly for several seconds, both of us unsure of what to do now. This reunion had started out moderately impassioned, and now we hadn't a clue as to how to say goodbye. _Good Gods, Jareth do something! But what?_ _Do I kiss her? Embrace her? Would she even want me to? We've had relations for Gods sake!_ _Why is this so complicated?_ I decided a simple kiss on the hand would be best and gentleman-like; might as well learn to be romantic while I can. I reached out for Sarah's hand and did precisely that, noticing that she blushed as I did so.

"Until Friday, Precious," I said.

"Right. Friday. Sounds good," she said in what seemed like a nervous tone.

I grinned devilishly at her before I disappeared and sifted back to my castle. Despite being happy about seeing Sarah again in four days, I still couldn't shake the unnerved feeling regarding book she had gotten from her friend _Angel._ Who was this woman anyway and why was she so willing to believe Sarah about everything? There were pages missing from the book too… _so very odd._ As I was walking to my chambers thinking about that damn book, Lucis came around a corner.

"Ah, there you are," he said. "I went to your room to deliver these papers to you but you weren't there. And… seeing as you look on edge right now, I'm going to assume something happened with Sarah. Did she finally call for you? Were you just with her?"

 _Always so many questions._ "Yes, I just left her home," I said in an exasperated tone. I wasn't in the mood to chit chat right now and continued my walk to my chambers. Lucis was persistent in finding out what happened though, and probed me for more information as he walked alongside me.

"And? What happened?"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, but figured I should tell him since he won't give up. "I'm taking her out on a _date_ this Friday evening. We are going to dinner and apparently walking in some sort of…park."

"How wonderful!" Lucis exclaimed beside me. "That is pleasing to know. But…shouldn't you be happy right now and not sulking?"

We had finally reached my room and I turned to face Lucis as I leaned against the wooden door. "I am ecstatic about spending time with Sarah, obviously. It is something else that plagues my mind," I said.

Lucis scrunched his forehead and gave me a curious look. "What is it?" he asked.

Before I answered, I let out a deep sigh. "Sarah received some sort of book that discussed the Underground from a woman named _Angel_. Somehow I get the feeling she's anything _but_ that."

Not fully understanding the implication from my words, Lucis tilted his head in confusion. "Angel? Why exactly is this bad?" he wanted to know.

"Several reasons," I stated. "I'm mostly concerned with the underlying intentions as to why the book was given to Sarah to begin with. It has missing pages you see." I paused for a second to get some sort of reaction from Lucis, but he continued to look at me with bemusement so I went on. "I think the book was given to her in the hopes that her curiosity about me, the missing pages, and this world would have her running into my arms. Though I haven't discerned why someone would want that and what that would lead to. Something just isn't sitting right with me about it. It's as though the woman is banking on Sarah returning the book to her to find out about the ripped out sections as an excuse to talk."

Raising his eyebrows, Lucis looked at me with concern and said, "Perhaps it would do you good to just focus on Sarah for now. I'm not saying push this matter aside entirely…maybe you could go with her to meet this woman once you and Sarah develop some sort of relationship. That way you can get a feel of… _Angel,_ or whatever you said her name was. It isn't uncommon for humans to have ideas about the Underground, you know. Where else do you think they came up with their ideas of unicorns and dragons?"

Sighing, I wiped my hands down my face. It had been a mentally draining couple of weeks, and perhaps Lucis was right- maybe I shouldn't think too much about this right now. Sarah needed to be my priority, but her safety coincided with that. I decided I wouldn't press the issue too much right now, but I would keep it at bay and attempt to meet this woman someday soon. Just to get a feel.

"You're right," I said to Lucis. "I'll try and…not think about it too much. Right now I just need to focus on my date with Sarah. Any advice?"

Lucis laughed a little and handed me the papers he sought out to give me. "Yes, don't fuck it up. You'll need all the luck you can get my friend," he said as he walked away.

That cheeky bastard.

* * *

 **SARAH**

I stared at myself in the mirror, debating if I was too dressy or not. Tonight was mine and Jareth's date, and I was currently wearing a wrap style, silky black dress that hung lower in the back, but cut off right at my thighs in the front, exposing some skin. It dipped into a low v, showing off a bit of cleavage as well and hugged my frame perfectly; I wanted to look good but not as though I was trying too hard or looked easy. I paired it with some black suede heels that laced up and wrapped around my ankles, and wore a simple silver choker. It probably sounded a bit vain but…with my hair in loose curls and pinned to one side, and my makeup consisting of a smoky eye and nude lip... I had to admit I looked pretty good. _Yeah, I'll keep this outfit on,_ I decided _._

I had made reservations for Jareth and I at a trendy steakhouse in the theater district and it was a pricey place. I didn't even think about payment, or if Jareth was able to pay with U.S. dollars let alone pay at all. I mean…I didn't mind if it came down to me paying; I made plenty of money on my own but it wasn't something I thought about until just now. _Damnit, Sarah._ Oh well…

I let out a heap of air, and decided I was ready. It was 7:30 and our reservation was at 8 pm. I had just enough time to pour myself a glass of wine really quick to calm my nerves before I called on Jareth. I felt so anxious and a multitude of other things right now. What would we talk about tonight? Would the conversation falter? Would I act like an idiot? Was _he_ just as nervous as me? I walked to the kitchen and poured myself some St. Francis as I questioned myself. My libido was still at an all-time high, and I wasn't sure how tonight would end. I contemplated whether or not I would invite Jareth up later, and what that would lead to. Lord knows I wanted him badly. And we'd already had sex. But he made it seem like he wanted to wait until we crossed that line again. I sipped my wine and then laughed to myself; Jareth didn't _want_ to wait. Not really. He was just trying to do the right thing, I suppose. Perhaps I would just have to lead the way…

Ten minutes later I had finished my wine, and because I had chugged it rather quickly, the buzz was already hitting me hard. I was definitely loosened up and it was time to call on my sexy date. I walked to the living room and stood in the middle of it, as I took a deep breath.

"Jareth? I'm uh…I'm ready when you are…" I said out loud, feeling awkward that I was basically talking to myself. I bit my lip, and my right hand rested on the upper part of my left arm, rubbing up and down.

"If your dress looks half as good as it does from the back, then I can't wait to see what the front looks like," I heard a voice from behind me.

I whipped around and caught Jareth ogling me, which sent chills throughout my body and I felt flushed from his appreciation in my appearance. He took slow and deliberate steps towards me, and I was breathing heavily when his face was inches from mine. I took in his scent; that amazing scent I've come to crave so much and I almost didn't notice that he was in his usual attire. _Uh oh._

"You look positively _ravishing_ , Sarah," Jareth whispered in my ear as he kissed my cheek. "I'm almost tempted to keep you here to myself."

I pulled away and let out a shy chuckle, brushing my hair behind my ear out of nervousness. "Thank you. You um…you look good too…? Actually, Jareth, we should probably talk about your attire."

"What of it?" he asked me, as he looked down at what he was wearing.

Sighing, I put the palms of my hands on the leather vest he was wearing over a red velvet long sleeved shirt. He had his usual breeches on with his black boots, and his face looked as though he was wearing some makeup. While he looked handsome as always, I didn't want him to be a spectacle. He was already flamboyant enough.

"Jareth…as much as I like your normal apparel…you may stand out like this, and I'm not sure if that's something we want," I said, feeling bad and hoping I wasn't making him feel inferior. I looked down to the floor, not wanting to see his expression. He tilted my chin up though, and he was…smiling. _What the…_

"Oh, Sarah," Jareth began to say. "I know better than to show up in public wearing all this. I was going to change before we left. I understand humans well enough to know that this isn't the typical clothing they wear," he finishing saying with a grin.

 _Well, I'll be darned._ "Oh…okay. What are you going to wear instead then?" I asked with a curious look on my face.

Jareth stepped back from me, still grinning and created one of his weird orb things again. He dropped it to the floor and seconds later he was no longer the Jareth I had come to know. Instead, his hair was short…much shorter and it was perfectly coiffed. It wasn't his usual blonde color either, a little more golden instead of white blonde. He had on jeans, and a white button up that exposed some of his chest, and he wore a black sports coat over it. He also wore casual black loafers to top it off, and damn he looked good. I gulped, and I couldn't help but become overwhelmed with how sexy he looked this way.

"How is this, Precious?" he asked me.

I had a transfixed look on my face I knew, but I couldn't help but stare at this…hunk of a man. Realizing he asked me a question, I shook my head slightly and cleared my throat. "You look good. Really good. It's weird though, I'm…I'm not used to seeing you like this."

"Should I make a habit out of it?" he asked, still smiling.

While this look was nice, it wasn't something I wanted him to do if he could help it. I liked Jareth as he was and told him, "No. I mean…don't get me wrong, I like it, but…I prefer your usual look. Though this is nice too. You look very handsome, as always." _Stop blabbering, Sarah!_

He came close to me again and took my hands in his. "I'm glad you approve," he said. "Shall we be off?"

"Yeah, let me get my purse," I stated and walked to my bedroom to collect my bag. I took one final glance in the mirror and nodded my head in approval. This night would be perfect.

* * *

We stepped out into the cool city air a few short minutes later, where I attempted to hail a taxi. The moment one pulled up, all I heard Jareth say from behind me was, "Do you expect me to get inside that iron contraption?"

Before I could open the car door, I turned to Jareth who had a look of terror on his face. _Shit._ I didn't know much about the body of cars or how they're made, other than they're mostly comprised of metal, plastic, and…steel? What did I know about steel? Was it iron? Double shit. I knew iron was toxic to his kind, but how much a card held of it I couldn't be sure. Jareth folded his arms and held his ground; we were going to be late at this rate.

"Jareth, I'm sorry, but we can't walk- the theater district is too far," I stated. "Are you worried about iron? Do cars even have iron in them?" I then asked with raised eyebrows.

"I can smell it, Sarah, so yes I believe that… _tin can_ is comprised of iron somewhere," he responded. "It's everywhere here in your world, but it's scattered enough that it won't hurt me unless I'm here for weeks at one time or cooped up in something that is filled with it. And that thing is filled with it."

I opened my mouth to say something, but I had no idea what _to_ say. The cab driver looked like he was getting impatient too, so while Jareth and I tried to figure this out I told him he could leave. I walked back up to where Jareth was still standing and asked him, "So what do you propose we do then?"

He gave me a mischievous grin and held out his hand. I looked at him with skeptical eyes as I wasn't sure what holding out a hand meant. Jareth must have sensed my hesitation because he then asked, "Do you trust me, Sarah?"

"Yeah…"

"Then take my hand," he said. "I promise it will be alright. What is the name of the location we are going to?"

"Bottiglia…" I told him with uncertainty in my voice, but I put my hand in his anyway.

The next thing I knew, we were no longer standing outside my apartment building, but we were instead alone in some alleyway. In the theater district. Right around the corner from the restaurant. _What the hell just happened?_

I swayed a little bit trying to get my bearings, and Jareth held me. "What the hell was that?" I asked him.

"I sifted us here," Jareth said as if I was supposed to know that. "A much better mode of transportation, don't you think?"

 _Not really…_ "I feel like I'm going to hurl," I admitted.

Jareth took my hand in his again, and all of a sudden I felt a million times better. Did he just cure me? What _can't_ he do?

"Better?" he asked.

I straightened up and smoothed my dress out. "Yeah actually, much. Thanks…for doing that. I'm not sure how I feel about teleporting…good to know it exists though."

"Teleporting?" he said with a laugh. "We call it sifting and it's quite practical. I promise it will get easier for you every time. Shall we?"

Taking my hand for the umpteenth time, Jareth led the way and we finally arrived at the swanky restaurant. We were given a fabulous booth that was somewhat intimate and as we sat down, I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I saw Jareth look around the restaurant in wonder. It was dim inside and was very masculine with its style and décor; perfect for him. "Everything okay?" I asked him when I sensed his uneasiness.

"Yes, of course," he replied in his most confident tone. I knew he had to be feeling nervous, but he never faltered. He was much too proud for that, and all I could do was grin as he and I looked through the menu.

* * *

Dinner had been a success; the food was amazing and Jareth had ordered the most expensive bottle of wine after literally asking for the "best wine fit for a king." Using his magic, he was able to pay for the bill - thank god - and I was thankful that he and I had plenty to talk about. He asked me what I had been doing with my life thus far, and I told him all about my education, the background between Paul and I, my job, and other life stories concerning Toby and my family. Jareth asked me how my relationship was with everyone, and I told him that while things were hard for a short while, one day I woke up and had an epiphany that I shouldn't take my family for granted and changed my fowl attitude towards them ever since. He subtly smiled at this, though I wasn't sure why.

He then went on to tell me a little bit about life in the Underground, mostly his role as Goblin King again and he mentioned his mother briefly. I was surprised to find out he still had a mother, for his father had passed. He also told me some horror stories about his job, a few of which had me laughing. Apparently, he's very popular with teenaged girls. We were walking through Central Park now, hand in hand, and I was trying to enlighten Jareth on what a rollercoaster was. Somehow I had mentioned Disneyland, and I explained to him the concept and told him my favorite ride at the park in California Adventures: California Screaming.

"Why would anyone wish to ride on such a thing like that?" he asked when I told him what it was.

"Because it's fun," I answered. "It's the adrenaline rush that people like. You should try it someday."

"I think I'll pass on the iron infused murder weapon, Precious. Plus, I get plenty of adrenaline through other means, such as flying," Jareth said.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes to myself and smile from his words. "Yeah well, not everyone is lucky enough to be able to turn into a bird, you know. Speaking of which…you do make one adorable owl."

He stopped walking and looked down at me. The park lamps were hitting his face just right, and I could see his face reddening a little. "Adorable? You mean I don't look menacing and fearful as an owl?" he asked teasingly.

"Afraid not, you big old bad Goblin King. More like soft and cuddly," I said laughing. "Can everyone turn into an animal in your world?" I then asked.

We started walking again and Jareth looked straight ahead as he answered me. "No, they cannot. Only those powerful enough are able to transform, which means it is but a handful of Fae who are able to. Some are just born with greater gifts than others, I suppose. It's generally how one comes into power in my world. So I suppose you can assume that any Fae who rules is able to morph."

"Is it hereditary then?" I questioned.

"Most of the time, yes. Though sometimes an unlucky Fae is born without the ability, but it is rare," Jareth explained.

"Huh. Interesting," I said. "I wonder what animal I would turn into."

"Hmm…If I had to guess…I would say a cat of some sort," Jareth thought out loud.

I raised my eyebrows as I looked to him. _I hated cats_ … "A cat? Why would I be a cat?" I asked.

He turned to me with a grin on his face. "You say that with so much disgust. What's wrong with cats?"

"Well for starters…they're mean. And moody…and temperamental," I tried rationalizing.

Jareth chuckled at my comment. "Yes, but they're also independent; smart; nurturing yet aggressive when necessary; and strong. It is the lioness that does all the bidding for their king, is it not?"

Sarah narrowed her eyes at Jareth when he mentioned the lioness. "What are you saying? That a woman belongs barefoot in the kitchen while the man gets to sit on the couch and sip his drink after a long day?"

Shaking his head, Jareth laughed. "While that sounds quite charming, that isn't what I meant. I just mean that like certain cats, women are strong. Fierce. And loyal. Like you."

We stopped walking again and Jareth was gazing down on me with a look of admiration. _He thought of me as fierce?_ _Strong and loyal?_ The fluttering of butterflies in my stomach was making me feel incredibly giddy just then, and my eyes went from staring into his own to his lips, and I couldn't help but want to kiss him. It was like he was staring into my soul, like he could see right through me and knew me better than I knew myself. Jareth had begun to lean in towards me; I gulped and my eyes slowly closed. Just then, a huge horse passed by us, making me jump out of my skin, and ruined the moment we may have had for a romantic kiss in Central Park. _Damn buggies._ I chuckled lightly and Jareth looked like he wanted to murder the man who had interrupted what would be our first real kiss.

Since the moment was killed, I blurted out without thinking, "Do you want to come back to my place?" _Oh god. I just said that. What will happen if he says yes? I know what I'd like to happen…_ I bit my lip nervously, waiting for his response.

Jareth didn't say anything for a few seconds, as if internally battling with himself over my question. I was starting to get antsy waiting for him to say something, when he finally asked cautiously, "Do you wish me to?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah I do. But if you don't want to…"

"No, it isn't that; of course I want to," Jareth said.

I was beginning to feel a little embarrassed now, and my pride was starting to get wounded. "But?" I asked. "I'm not a kid, Jareth," I followed up saying self-consciously, hoping he'd take the hint that if we somehow found ourselves in the woes of passion it wouldn't be the end of the world.

"Sarah, I know you aren't," he said half amused. "I just don't want to ruin this by doing anything too soon."

I rolled my eyes at how ridiculous he was being. I knew Jareth was a sexual being, and he wasn't fooling anyone, but I'd play along. "I don't think you coming back to my place to have a glass of wine with me, talk, and just hang out will ruin anything," I said, trying to entice him. If making him think sex wasn't on the agenda then I'd steer my intentions in another direction.

"Well, when you put it like that…" he said smiling. "Shall we walk there or…teleport, as you call it?"

* * *

After Jareth transported us back to my place and healed me again after my disorientation, we sipped on some port and nibbled on dark chocolate on the couch as we were enjoying each other's company. Jareth apparently had an affinity for sweets and returned to his normal form when we arrived back at my place. The talk had been small, mostly with us asking each other silly questions like what our favorite color is, our favorite past time activities, and stories of us as children. I felt like a teenager all over again- everything was playing out to be so innocent thus far and I hadn't been this giddy over a guy since Paul; but even with him I forced myself to act all cool and suave for him in the beginning. I didn't feel like I had to try with Jareth, it was just so natural to be myself.

"Oh my god, so _that's_ why your left eye is permanently dilated? You and your friend…Lucis got into a fight? Over a girl?" I asked him.

"Yes, precisely. I wanted her, but so did Lucis and when I tried sabotaging his chances, he didn't take too kindly to my interference. So he punched me. Rightfully so, mind you. But he was a terrible shot, and scratched my eye instead."

"Well, it left a cool effect," I said. "I think it gives you…character."

"Which is why I never really fixed it; I could, but I think it makes me dangerously handsome," he joked.

"You're ridiculous," I teased, as I set my hand on his forearm. "It's funny, because I remember one time I was playing Twister with some friends in college, and somehow I wound up in an unwanted and scandalous looking position with one of my friends boyfriend during the game. Suffice it to say my friend thought I was putting the moves on her man, and well. She wasn't happy, shoved me off of him, and threw her drink in my face. I mean, it didn't leave a scar or anything, but your situation just reminded me of that."

"Did you retaliate?" he asked in a serious tone.

I laughed mildly, thinking about how I acted after the incident. "No, I was speechless and she walked away from the scene faster than a cannonball. Plus she was wasted out of her mind, so I figured it wasn't worth pursuing. But now that I think about it, she totally deserved backlash for that. Did _you_ retaliate when Lucis punched you?"

Jareth sipped the remainder of his port, and chuckled. "I'm afraid not. I could scarcely see, and he immediately kept apologizing right after he did it. I forgave him easily enough, I suppose males are just different."

"Yeah, I guess so. My friend and I never spoke again after that," I told him.

"What a pity," he said causing a weird feeling to go through me. _Why did that sound so familiar…_

"What is…Twister, anyway?" he then asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. I turned my head towards him and smiled mischievously.

* * *

"Okay…left hand…blue," I said in a strained voice.

I had managed to dig up my Twister board buried in my closet, and explained to Jareth how the game worked. I mentioned we should play, and he was game. Now, we found ourselves in a precarious situation, with him underneath me, as both of his hands and feet were sprawled out on different colors. I, on the other hand, was hovering over him, attempting to stretch my body to lay my left hand on the blue circle. Wearing this damn dress had only made it worse...I somehow managed to place my hand on blue, and my face was so close to his, I could feel his breath on my neck.

"Sarah, if you wanted to be on top, you need only ask," Jareth teased.

"Stop…making me laugh," I said in between in giggles and tried to focus again. "Your turn."

"Right then. Um. How exactly am I to spin if I can't reach it?"

"Here, I'll just do it for you," I replied and spun the spinner. "Right foot green," I laughed. How he was going to get himself in that one, I couldn't figure out, but I looked forward to watching him try.

"Blast," was all he said. "Alright."

As soon as he attempted to move his body in order to get his food on the green circle, I lost my own balance and toppled on top of him, causing us to both laugh uncontrollably. I could feel his chest rising up and down as he laughed, and hearing him do so caused me to laugh even more. When we both settled down some, he was trailing his fingers lightly up and down my back. I brought my face up to meet his, and he smiled at me.

"I can see why your friend got upset; that was indeed a dangerous game, in more ways than one," he said.

"But oh so fun," I replied.

He swept my now messy hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear as it been styled to do so from earlier. "Is it fair to say I won?" he suddenly asked.

"That depends. If I say yes, are you going to want something as a reward?" I inquired in jest.

"Perhaps," he answered. "What would you be willing to give me?"

"What do you want?" I was trembling with anticipation, for I had no idea what he was going to say. He was looking at me with longing in his face, and I so badly wanted him to make a move. He must have been reading my mind just then, because before I knew it, he flipped me over onto my back so that he was the one hovering over me now. His blonde hair was falling in a dark curtain around his face, his body casting a shadow over mine.

"You," was all he said. A shiver moved through me, followed by a heated ache between my legs as I imagined all the things I wanted him to do to me just then. His gaze darkened and his voice lowered intimately as he whispered in my ear, "Romance isn't in my repertoire, Sarah. But a thousand ways to make you come are. Let me show you."

* * *

 **AN: Is that mean of me? hehehehe. I struggled with this chapter a lot. I wanted to go into their date a lot more, but it's so unnecessary to give a line by line overview of everything involved and I feared those little details would have bored readers. So I tried to give some insight as to what a couple of their conversations would include on a first date. I just imagine Jareth totally awkward with waiters, though he's used to ordering people around so maybe it comes naturally to him. But being in that type of setting in another world just seems like it'd be hilarious.  
**

 **BY THE WAY- I love cats! In fact, I'm obsessed. Sarah just doesn't like them haha.**

 **Iron and cars; pretty sure steel is a compound of iron, and when I was researching that it seemed to fit what I thought. So if I have that wrong...oops!**

 **Also, Sarah mentioned their first real kiss in the park, and while they have kissed before, it was obviously not the same as a legit first kiss. That one was all crazy because they were in the heat of the moment. Dream kisses don't count. And Jareth has held off pouncing on Sarah until now, but...it's Jareth, he can only stay strong for so long ;) Nothing wrong with having sex on a first date, if you're super into the person and feeling it. But that's just me.**

 **PS- Jareth's look when he goes into his human form is based off of how our sexy David Bowie looked in 1993/1994. Mmm mmm mmm! If you want an idea as to what Sarah's outfit looked like, just type in Carrie Dress Lioness and it's the first image that pops up in Google Images. Super sexy dress.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Lemons below! Our favorite ;) ENJOY!**

* * *

 **SARAH**

It was hard to not be tempted after a gorgeous, virile male so determined to apparently get hot and sweaty with me said something like that. He had such a profound, visceral effect on me and I was incredibly turned on by his words. The surge of arousal from his tone spurred my wild desire for him; I wanted him. I had always wanted him, and I knew I'd continue to want him. I licked my dry lips, and said, "Show me then."

He groaned, tilted his head, and sealed his mouth over mine; I'd wanted his kiss again since we'd first been intimate and I was shocked by how soft his firm lips were this time and the gentleness of the pressure he exerted. I sighed and his tongue dipped inside, tasting me in long, leisurely licks. His kiss was confident, skilled, and just the right amount of aggressive. If I thought the first time we engaged in carnal activity was amazing…there were no words for this so far.

I barely registered that we were still on top of the Twister mat when my hands were in his hair. I pulled on the silky strands, using them to direct his mouth over mine. He growled, deepening the kiss, stroking my tongue with lush slides of his own. I felt the raging beat of his heart against my chest, proof that he wasn't just a hopeless idea conjured by my imagination. This was real. _He_ was real.

Cupping my face, he stopped kissing me and rested his forehead against my own momentarily. "I want you, Sarah. I can't stop."

"Then don't," I answered and I kissed him again as if I could eat him alive. My skin was damp and sensitive, my breasts heavy and tender. My clit throbbed for attention, pounding along with my raging heartbeat. Jareth scooped me up then, and the couch was against my back seconds later. He was levered over me with one knee on the cushion and the other foot on the floor. His left arm supported his torso while his right hand gripped the back of my knee, sliding upward along my thigh in a firmly possessive glide. He must have realized I didn't have on any panties as his slid his hand up even higher, because he suddenly growled again and kissed me harder, his mouth swallowing my surprised gasp.

Because the material of my dress was so thin, my nipples were completely erect and pronounced through the silk; that's when Jareth started cupping my breasts, kneading them with soft, rhythmic squeezes. He then slowly slid down both straps of the dress, until my full breasts were wholly exposed.

"Jareth-"

"Shh." He sucked on my lower lip, forcing me to not think, his fingers rolling and tugging my tender nipples. "Do you know how much you are driving me crazy? Knowing how naked you are beneath this piece of fabric?"

His mouth suddenly surrounded the tip of my breast, the wash of heat making my skin even more damp. Lifting his head a few seconds later, he looked at me with stormy blue eyes. "I have to make you come again. I've been thinking about it ever since last time."

 _Yes please_ _!_

One of his hands then pushed between my legs, and they fell open shamelessly, my body so aroused it was on autopilot again. I could hardly register all that was happening right now, I just knew this felt too good. I'd wanted him subconsciously for years, and I'd have him again tonight. My thoughts ended when his other hand continued their assault on my unbearably sensitive breasts.

"You're so wet for me," he murmured, his gaze sliding down my body to where he was parting me with his fingers. He slid one finger carefully into me, making my eyes close from the unbearably exquisite feeling. "And so tight like before." Jareth pulled out and thrust gently back into me. My back bowed as I clenched eagerly around him. "And greedy."

He pulled out again and pushed back into me with two fingers this time, and I could no longer hold back the moan that escaped my mouth. The man certainly had talented hands, so confident and skilled, and he took what he wanted with them.

"I can't wait to explore your body this time; be inside of you again. I'm going to give you all that you can take, Sarah," he whispered into my ear.

"Jesus, Jareth." I was panting for him, my hips circling shamelessly onto his thrusting fingers. I'd never been so turned on in my life; Paul never made me this excited. I noticed Jareth was breathing hard too. His face was flushed with lust for me and I'd done nothing more than respond helplessly to him. The smile I saw on his face was both wicked and delighted, and it made my chest tight.

"I want to feel your cum, Sarah. I want to show you all the ways I intend to please you, and you're going to take it all. You can feel how it'll be between us, can't you?"

"Ugh! Yes," I breathed. My sex rippled around his stroking fingers, the rawness of his words pushing me to the brink of orgasm. I had to clutch my breasts to ease the ache of my hardened nipples. "Please, Jareth."

"I've got you," he said. The pad of his thumb rubbed my clitoris in gentle circles. "Come for me, Sarah. Look into my eyes when you come for me."

Everything tightened in my core, the tension building as he massaged my clit and pushed his fingers in and out in a steady, unhurried rhythm.

"Now," was all he said. I climaxed with a cry, my grip white-knuckled on the sides of the cushions as my hips pumped onto his hand, my mind far beyond shame or shyness. My gaze was locked on his, unable to turn away, riveted by the fierce masculine triumph that flared in his eyes. Before I had a chance to come back down to earth, Jareth hooked one of my legs over his shoulder and covered my cleft with his mouth.

Another loud moan escaped me when his tongue touched my clit, fluttering over it, making the hunger inside me build again. He rimmed my trembling slit, teasing me, taunting me with the promise of another orgasm when I thought I couldn't have another one so quickly. Then his tongue speared into me, and I bit my lip to bite back the scream. I came a second time, my body quaking violently, the muscles tightening desperately around his decadent licking. His growl vibrated through me and he was back to kissing me again. I tasted the effects of my desire for him on his tongue, the tangy and sweet flavor residing in my mouth.

"I need you," I said breathlessly, inhaling his scent, which seemed even richer now that he was aroused. "Bedroom," was all I could muster in between kisses.

Wasting no time at all, Jareth picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him as he walked us to my room. He pulled me into him and his mouth was over mine, and I melted at the feel of his tongue, stroking slow and sweet. He set me down gently on the bed so I was laying on my back, and even in the dark I could see his face ridden with lust. I pounced, pushing my hands up beneath his shirt to feel his own damp skin and the hardness of the muscles beneath it. "Get naked. Like _now."_

Jareth laughed as he stood up straight and yanked his shirt off and over his head. I sat up and rested on my elbows as I watched him undress. The last time we were intimate he was still dressed for the most part, and now I had a chance to marvel at his lean yet muscular body. There wasn't an ounce of excess flesh on him anywhere it seemed, just slabs of honed muscle. While he didn't have washboard abs, they were still very visible and he had that sexy V of muscle on his pelvis. He then pulled down those tight breeches I've come to love and I then found myself staring at his perfectly erect penis. He was pure primal male, the embodiment of everything I didn't know I needed, yet I fantasized about and wished for for years. I gulped and stared unabashedly.

"You're still dressed," he noted. He attacked my dress then, sliding the rest easily off me, and I was completely naked before him, with the exception of the choker I still wore. I barely caught my breath before he was on me again. We rolled across the mattress in a tangle, and everywhere he touched me left trails of fire behind.

"You're so beautiful, Sarah." He took one breast in his hand before taking my nipple into his mouth, making me cry out at the feel of his tongue, my core tightening with every suck. My hands started to get greedy as they slid over his skin, stroking and kneading, searching for spots that made him growl and moan. I attempted to roll him over, but he was a lot stronger and heavier than I thought. He lifted his head and smiled down at me. Seeing that smile and the heat in his eyes was so intense. _Too fast. I was falling too fast. Or maybe I fell a long time ago._

He kissed me deeply, licking into my mouth in that way of his. Everything about him turned me on, from the way he looked and felt beneath my hands to the way he touched me. His greed and the silent demands he made on my body, his gentle yet aggressive nature in which he pleasured me, drove me crazy.

"I love your body," he said. "I can't get enough of it."

"You haven't had much of it yet," I teased.

"And I don't think I'll ever have enough," he replied as he nibbled and licked across my shoulder. He slid down and caught my other nipple between his sharp teeth. He tugged and the tiny dart of pain had my back arching. He soothed the sting with a soft suck and kissed his way downward. "I've never wanted anything this badly," he then pointed out.

 _Me either,_ I thought, but I couldn't say the words for his mouth had made its way down to my inner thighs, making me let out a soft moan. He growled softly and once again dove for the slick flesh between my legs. His tongue pushed into me, licking and parting the sensitive tissues. My hips churned and writhed, my body silently begging for more, though I wasn't sure how much more I could take. It all felt so good I could have wept, and I about did when his tongue thrust into my sex. His groans vibrated against my swollen flesh, goading the climax to roll over me. Tears stung my eyes, the physical pleasure destroying me and finally, I lost it for the third time tonight. A loud cry left my mouth as the orgasm rolled over me, leaving me completely exhausted.

"I love watching you come, Sarah. I love hearing the sounds you make, the way your body quivers…" he said softly, as he positioned himself on top of me, pinning me, tucking his forearms on the outside of my biceps and pressing them to my sides, capturing me. My gaze was riveted to his beautiful face; his features were harsh with lust, and his eyes were both so dark and dilated they were almost black. I knew I was staring into the face of a male who'd passed the limits of his control, for Jareth tried waiting to take this step with me. I appreciated that he had made it this far for my benefit and that he'd done everything in his power to pleasure me first and foremost.

My hands fisted the bedspread, anticipation building. He'd made sure I got mine, over and over again. This would be for him, now. I nodded my head, daring him with my eyes.

" _Sarah_." He snapped out my name as he rammed into me, sinking balls-deep in one fierce drive.

I gasped. He was big, like I remembered from before and hard as stone. I'd never felt so completely taken and possessed. I wouldn't have thought I could bear to be restrained during sex; I'd only been with one other person before and Paul had never acted this way with me in bed, despite my curiosity for it. Jareth's total domination of my body intensified my desire to an outrageous level and I'd never been so hot for it in my life.

I clenched around him, feeling him inside me and filling me to the brink. His hips ground against mine, prodding to say, _feel me? I'm in you. I own you._

His entire body hardened, the muscles of his chest and arms straining as he pulled out to the tip. The rigid tightening of his abs was the only warning I got before he slammed forward again, hard. I cried out and his chest rumbled with a low, primitive sound. "Fuck, Sarah. You feel so good."

Then he really started pounding into me, nailing my hips to the mattress with wildly fierce drives. He buried his face in my neck and held me tightly, plunging hard and fast, gasping raw, heated sex words that made me crazed with desire. I thought this round was to be his, but he was still with me, still focused on me, swiveling his hips to pleasure me to the core. I made a small, helpless sound of need and his mouth slanted over mine. I was so desperate for him as my nails dug into his pumping hips, struggling with the grinding urge to rock into the ferocious thrusts of his big member.

We were both dripping sweat at this point, our skin hot and slicked together, our chests both heaving for air. Another orgasm brewed inside me, everything tightening and clenching, squeezing. He cursed out loud and shoved one hand beneath my hip, cupping my rear and lifting me into his thrusts so that his dick stroked over and over the spot that ached for him.

"Come for me, Sarah," he ordered. "Come for me now."

With that, I climaxed in a rush that had me sobbing his name, and he threw his head back, shuddering.

"Ah, Sarah!" he clasped me so tightly I couldn't breathe, his hips pumping as he came long and hard inside me.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed in that position, leveled, mouths sliding over each other's shoulders and throats to soothe and calm. My entire body tingled and all I could manage was, "Wow."

"You'll kill me," he muttered with his lips at my jaw.

I laughed lightly. "Me? I didn't do anything." He'd controlled me completely, and it had been so freakin' sexy.

"You're breathing. That's enough."

Another laugh escaped me, and I hugged him. He lifted his head, and nuzzled my nose. "I can't wait to do that again with you."

My brows lifted. "You can do that again so soon?"

"I could do it all night." He rolled his hips and I could feel that he was still semi hard.

"You're an animal," I told him with a chuckle. "Or a god, I haven't decided which."

"No, it's just what you do to me." With a soft, sweet kiss, he pulled out of me and stood up, offering his hand to me. "Shower with me?"

"Give me a minute to find my brain, and then I'll join you," I said.

"Alright," he replied. He sauntered to the bathroom, giving me a perfect view of his sculpted back and that cute buttocks of his. I sighed with appreciation that I had just been with this prime male specimen. _Again_. I could help but think back to the first time we had sex a few weeks ago, and how different that whole scenario had been. The sex was amazing, but it was so…rushed; so in the heat of the moment without any real emotion or thought behind it other than pure animalistic thirst. While this round was still raged with heat and desire, it was different- in the best way possible and I was laced with happiness. I really was falling for him hard.

"Are you coming?" he asked from the bathroom. He probably had no idea how to work the shower, but was too embarrassed to admit that. I laughed to myself and got up from the bed to join him.

Our shower together was filled with gentle and small kisses, and laughter when we got a little too lively with the shampoo. It was crazy to me how Jareth could bounce from being an aggressive king to a rough and gentle lover at the same time to a playful adult. He had so many facets to him, and I couldn't wait to peel back all the layers.

We got out of the shower together nearly twenty minutes later, and I asked Jareth to stay the night. It was assumed he would anyway, but I thought I'd ask regardless. We crawled into bed naked nearly a quarter after one AM and curled up together. Sexual tension crackled in the air between us, but he didn't make any overtures so I didn't either. I suspected he didn't want to overwhelm me too much too soon with his sexual tendencies, trying to prove that he wanted to spend time with _me_ and not just my body.

It worked. As much as I wanted him, it felt good just laying together. Tonight had been perfect, and I'd never felt more at peace than I did in that moment. I fell asleep minutes later with a full and happy heart as Jareth slept beside me.

* * *

 **JARETH**

I woke the way I'd fallen asleep, with Sarah right next to me, her head on my chest. Her dark hair hung around her shoulders and face, looking even sexier for being sleep-tousled. She was so beautiful, I could hardly stand it. I could get used to waking up like this. Last night had been more than I could have ever imagined, and it wasn't taking me long to fall completely head over heels for her. She'd been so amazing during our evening together, and I was more than surprised when she asked me back to her home in the park. Naturally I wanted to, but I was fearful to move too quickly and do something to scare her off; I didn't want a repeat of before. But during that game of… _Twister_ , I couldn't help myself any longer and she didn't stop me, thank Gods. I wanted her wholeheartedly and I was ecstatic about how far we had come in such short time.

I looked up to the ceiling and the night came flooding back to me then, and all I could do was replay all the events in my head. From seeing how sexy she looked in that little black dress, to the way she helped ease me at dinner, to how comfortable she was with me all night, and how amazing our intimacy had been. I had of course been with my fair share of females throughout my long life, but I'd never felt the things I feel for Sarah: pure awe and affection. Not a single one of those other females compared to the raven haired beauty sleeping soundly beside me now. Her sensual laugh and sighs and moans were things I realized I would begin to crave from this moment on, and there was no way I could let her go. Not after all this time.

Just then I felt slow movements emanating from next to me and I looked down to see Sarah's eyes fluttering open. Rather than look away, I looked into her jade eyes and she smiled. She stretched and yawned as I said, "Good morning, beautiful."

Her sleepy smile lit up the room. "Good morning yourself."

She definitely had the look of a woman who'd been well pleasured last night, an observation that made my lower appendage perk to life under the covers. "How did you sleep?" I asked.

"So good. Though I can't imagine why," she replied teasingly.

"Should I refresh your memory?" I asked with a wicked grin and rolled over so I was on top of her. She laughed a little bit, but didn't push me away or give me any indication that she wasn't up for this. So I lowered my mouth onto hers and gave her a gentle yet firm kiss, and her tongue met mine in fluid strokes. When I heard the moan come from her throat, I felt her part her legs open, and she lightly grabbed the head of my penis to guide me to her warm and wet slit. She didn't need to tell me twice; I pushed the first bare inch of myself inside her and saw her mouth open and eyes close at the entrance.

"Sarah," I breathed, clutching her tightly to me. "I'm so glad you're here with me."

She tugged my lips down to hers and kissed me. "Me too."

* * *

We stayed in bed for nearly an hour after our second rendezvous, and only got up when Sarah and I heard the rumbling from her stomach. When we got up, we both made ourselves somewhat decent and Sarah went to the kitchen where she began to make us pancakes. I stood awkwardly on the other side of her kitchen counter top watching her, and I felt helpless doing so. _Should I offer to help?_

"Do you want any coffee?" she suddenly asked as she stirred the ingredients in a bowl.

"Yes, if you'll have some," I answered.

She looked up to me and smiled. "Do you want to try making it?"

 _What._ "Uh. Is that such a good idea?"

Rolling her eyes, she laughed. "It's super easy, I promise. Come here."

I walked hesitantly to the kitchen where Sarah showed me her coffee machine; the damn thing just looked confusing. She walked me through the seemingly simple steps, and then told me to have at it. I took a deep breath and grabbed one of the coffee mugs off the small hanger nearby. I placed it under the area where the liquid dripped out, put one of the coffee cups in the holder as Sarah instructed me, shut it more forcefully than I needed to, and waited. Nothing was happening. Why was nothing happening?

Sarah casually stood by her stove, and I saw her flip a pancake over. I was tempted to ask her what I do now for I had forgotten the last step, but I was a king damnit, I could figure this out! I stared down the machine as if it were my worst enemy and that's when it hit me: the 'Brew' button, of course!

"Aha!" I exclaimed and pushed the button. Noises came from the machine, and I was worried for a second that I had broken it, but alas! Coffee began to drip out! I had done it, I had made coffee for the first time! Sarah must have seen my excitement because all I heard was laughter come from her and I turned to give her a bow.

"Woo! You successfully managed to make a cup of coffee," she said. "I'll take mine with sugar and cream, please. Cream is in the fridge, and sugar is right there," she finished saying, pointing to a glass container that held sugar in it.

 _Damnit._ She was domesticating me already. I sighed, not from being told what to do, though that would take some getting used to in itself, but mostly because I had no idea how much sugar or cream to put in her coffee. What if I completely fucked it up? I looked in her fridge and saw a yellow container that read "Hazelnut Creamer" so without further ado, I picked it up and poured what I thought would be enough. Then I added a pinch of sugar. Surely that'll do…

"I hope this is satisfactory and to your liking," I said and handed Sarah her mug.

"Thank you," she replied. "Pancakes are about done, too." She sipped her coffee and I watched her tentatively, hoping she would like it. She licked her lips and I was getting antsy, waiting for her response.

"How is it?" I finally asked.

"Not bad. You did good for a first timer," she answered with a smile. "It could use a bit more sugar, but other than that, it's tasty. Now you can make a cup whenever you stay over." And then she kissed my cheek. "Hungry?"

"For you? Always."

"I meant for food, you dork."

"Pancakes sound good, too I suppose," I said as I winked.

* * *

"I stopped doing plays after high school," Sarah explained after I asked her whatever happened to her desire to act. "I realized I needed a career that I would actually excel in. Acting was more for fun, and a way to get closer to my mom."

"Do you and your mother still talk?" I inquired.

"Oh, yeah," she stated. "For a long time our relationship was a little strained…I mean, she left my dad to pursue her own acting career, kind of left me behind as well, and met an awful man who I can't stand, so…things were hard for a while. But, she's the only mom I'll ever have and I learned to forgive her. She's more like a friend than an actual mom though…and she probably loves me a little too much, actually. She calls me like ten times a day."

I tilted my head at her last comment. "Heh, I know the feeling. My own mother constantly tries reaching out to me, but our relationship is…complicated."

"Why is that?" she asked as she sipped her second cup of coffee that she made herself this time. "I know you mentioned her briefly last night, but I didn't want to press the issue."

Sighing, I said, "After my father died…she was really never the same. It took her many years to get over his death. They were very much in love, you see. A rarity in my world. Though I was wholly independent growing up, my uncle was pretty much the one who raised me from a somewhat early age, and taught me the ways to be a king. My mother moved to the capital to avoid being in the place that reminded her of my father. When she decided she wanted to actually be a mother again, I had already pulled away due to bitterness and a small part of me wanted to hurt her, as bad as that sounds. Over time though, we slowly got to know one another again, and she tries very hard to be a part of my life to this day, but I still hold a touch of resentment. Plus, if she truly cared I feel she would move back home. She hasn't."

"I see," was all Sarah said. "What happened to your uncle, by the way?"

"Lovely Uncle Leon died from a poisoned arrow while hunting. Our kingdom was the only one who saw it as foul play, while the rest ruled it as an accident. Utter horseshit, if you ask me. We never did catch who did it. But I imagine someday, somehow…the culprit will be caught."

"That's horrible," Sarah said with empathy. "I'm so sorry, Jareth."

"It's alright. Luckily at that point, he was handing the crown down to me so I was ready to take over. But it was horrible at the time; he was the only real family I had left."

"That's not true," Sarah stated softly. "You still have your mom…I know it isn't my place to say but. Maybe you should go a little easy on her? It seems like she is wanting to make up for her years of absence, and as someone who can sympathize, life is too short to hold a grudge. Your mom loves you, I'm sure. Sometimes…parents lose their way; it's how they go about making up for it that matters."

I could only grin at the woman sitting across from me. How could a person be so forgiving and understanding? She was truly remarkable and I think only she could warm my icy heart. "Perhaps you're right," I said. "Though in the life of Fae, sometimes life is too long. We are practically immortal, after all."

She laughed at this. "All the more reason to not hold a grudge. Forever is a long time."

"Not long at all."

* * *

I helped Sarah clean up the dishes about an hour later. Well, actually I mostly stood there and watched her do it, but I did manage to dry off a plate. It was exhausting cleaning; why no one got a maid to do it baffled me.

After she was finished drying her hands off, she propped herself up on the counter top to sit and asked me, "So what should we do today?"

"You wish to spend the day with me?" I questioned as I placed my hands on her waist, and she put her hands on my shoulders.

"Of course. It's Saturday, the weather is beautiful outside, you're already here and we've been having fun. Unless you don't want to stay here any-"

I kissed her before she could finish; I wish I could spend every minute with her. "I know how I want to spend the day," I told her as I wriggled my eyebrows.

"You horn dog," she said with chuckling.

"Is that a yes?"

"That's a hell yes."

With that, I picked her up and for the remainder of the afternoon we stayed in her bedroom, completely caught up in one another. I was pretty sure I could never get enough of her, and I sincerely hoped the feeling was mutual. Life had never been better.

* * *

 **AN: I feel like Jareth would be so adorable to watch in the kitchen haha totally lost and definitely not used to doing regular human things. I kind of couldn't wait to post this chapter, so that's why I hardly waited. The morning after is always fun to read.**

 **She isn't on the site, but I have to thank my step sister a lot for being my BETA concerning the sexy scene. She is so good at writing and gave me some useful tips. I also wanted to make it hot but not distasteful. Jareth is Jareth so he'll be vocal and on the rougher side no matter what, but I tried to make the sex come across as "making love mixed with a hint of naughty." So we'll see how you guys like it. I thought I wanted this done in about 15 chapters, and I may still but it's hard to imagine me wrapping everything up in two more chapters so I'm thinking maybe three-four more then an epilogue.**

 **As always, I appreciate your reviews immensely so if you're liking this story...I would SO love it if you commented :) Thanks, guys!**


	14. Chapter 14

**SARAH**

Peaceful. Peaceful is what I felt as Jareth held me from behind in bed the next morning. And sore. I was extremely sore. _Why was I so sore? Oh, right._ My mind went back to yesterday after breakfast; Jareth and I quite literally spent all day held up in my bedroom, talking, kissing, and cuddling, among other carnal activities that I can honestly say I've never indulged in before as an all-day thing. Not that I'm complaining- it was amazing, and the only time we ever left the bedroom was to get food or water. I've always liked sex as much as the next person, but Jareth was quickly making me become addicted to it. Or maybe I was becoming addicted to _him_. Regardless, I was completely exhausted by the end of the night, although I'm pretty sure Jareth could have kept going. _Boy does he have stamina…_

I smiled as I thought about all the ways he had touched me and brought me to new peaks, and a shiver ran down my spine. So much for not wanting to overwhelm me too fast with his sexual needs. I about died after what felt like my hundredth orgasm, but god, what a way to go down. How was it that I could feel this strongly for someone so quickly? It wasn't just the sex, either. In between each round, we would talk about anything and everything and I realized I was falling for him. Hard. Which is crazy because only three weeks ago I didn't even think he was real, and now he's sleeping soundly next to me. Life sure has a funny way of working out.

Sighing, I turned slowly, trying not to wake him, and stared at his handsome face. I could get lost in his features all day; I loved the way his eyebrows swept up and the fascinating markings below them, the small amount of crow's feet on the outer edges of his eyes, his strong jawline, that perfectly straight nose, and I even had a nice view of his strong chest. He was so flawless. And then there's me: an ordinary human with no special effects infused in me whatsoever. Yet, somehow…this gorgeous, immortal being had chosen _me_. Who would have thought?

I watched the rise and fall of Jareth's chest and still couldn't believe everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. Where we do even go from here? Would he be my boyfriend? Was I even ready for that? Paul and I had just broken up after all, and what would my friends and family think? Jesus, what would I even _tell_ them? _Hi family and friends; this is my mystical and magical boyfriend who I met when I was fifteen, after running his Labyrinth in a place called the Underground because I wished Toby away. But I won him back, so don't worry. Not that I remember any of it. Anyway, I had been dreaming about him for seven years and now he's back in my life! Isn't that crazy? His name is Jareth and we're in love and plan on eloping in Las Vegas. Welcome him to the family!_

I cringed at the thought of trying to explain this sudden new- and older looking- man in my life and brought my fingers to my lips, habitually nibbling on the tips of my nails. I was starting to over analyze everything again, and felt the anxiety rising up. I adjusted myself so I was laying on my back again, and rested my forearm along my forehead, covering my eyes. _So much to think about._ Before I _could_ even think about something else, I heard a loud knock coming from my front door, the noise startling me. What the…What time was it anyway? I peeked at my phone and saw that it was only 8:33 AM, quite early for someone to be knocking on the door on a Sunday morning.

The knocking continued, so I got out of bed to answer the door. Luckily I had slept in pajamas last night, so I didn't need to put anything on, even though my outfit was still a tad indecent. I hurriedly rushed to the door and when I opened it my mouth dropped. Standing in front of me in her scrubs, with a pissed off expression, arms folded, was none other than my best friend. Alexa.

"Hey," I said slightly out of breath after staring at her for several seconds. "What, uh…what are you doing here? I didn't know you'd be coming over."

She only narrowed her hazel eyes. "Where the hell have you been?"

"What? What do you mean? I've been here…"

"I mean… _what_ have you been doing? I haven't heard from you since I was last here like three weeks ago. Three weeks! I tried not to bother you because of Paul and everything and wanted to give you space, but enough is enough. I've been freaking out and you didn't respond to my texts at all Friday night or even yesterday and I wanted to make sure you were alive. Especially after talking to Paul on Friday, so I decided to come here right after I got off work."

"Wait, what? You talked to Paul?"

"He called me, yeah. Which is why I was trying to reach you."

 _Uh oh_. "What did he tell you?" I asked.

"He said some lunatic was staying here with you and that he assaulted him when he was trying to talk to you. Care to elaborate on that?"

I looked behind me to make sure Jareth was still in bed, and turned back to Alexa. "Here, come inside. Just…hold on a sec, okay?"

After Alexa was inside, I walked casually to my room to grab a light hoodie and closed my door, trying to pretend there wasn't someone in there sleeping. I met her back at my kitchen table where she was sitting, waiting for answers.

"Well?" she asked.

I took a deep breath, and sat. "Paul did come here three weeks ago. But he wasn't _assaulted,_ that lying bastard. He showed up here drunk, trying to do god knows what and win me back. He passed out, and the next morning we got into an argument where I told him to fuck off, and he left."

Alexa looked at me incredulously. "That's it? What about the lunatic he mentioned? He said you were seeing someone and that he was dangerous, Sarah."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "That's not true."

"So, what? Paul just made that up? Why would he do that?"

How the hell was I going to explain this? I looked down to my feet, fidgeting in my chair. Of all days, Alexa had to show up when Jareth, the guy who just happened to be from my dreams as I so stupidly told Alexa about, was sleeping in my room. Naked. _Mother fuck._

"He didn't exactly make it up…" I said after a long pause, finally looking up to Alexa.

Alexa shook her head slightly, and looked confused. "What? So you _are_ seeing someone? What the hell, Sarah?"

"It isn't like that, okay? He's an old…friend. Yes he was here that night, and the next day. Paul shoved him first and so he retaliated. Sort of. He just picked Paul up by the front of his shirt, and threatened him a little. It isn't like he punched him or anything. What a fucking drama queen."

Alexa looked at me with uncertainty, as if I was holding something back. Which I was, of course. But she was relentless.

"Who is he?" she demanded to know.

"Who?"

"The _guy,_ Sarah! Don't play dumb."

"Look…It's complicated, alright?"

"I have time," Alexa said, leaning back in her chair. "I know you're keeping something from me, you suck at lying, you're flushed, your hair has that tousled look to it, and you're all…glowy and shit. What the hell has been going on? Tell me the truth."

"Lex, I…"

"Good morning," came the low and husky voice from behind me. "Oh, you have a visitor," he then added with a surprised voice.

I closed my eyes briefly, and peeked one open to look at Alexa who looked absolutely transfixed as Jareth stood several feet behind me. I turned around to glance at him, and saw that he had managed to put on some clothes- a black v neck shirt and loose fitting pants. He looked delicious, though probably completely ostentatious to Alexa's eyes.

"I'm sorry, I hope I didn't interrupt anything," he said with hesitation in his voice, still standing by my bedroom door. "Should I…?" he asked, pointing to my room with his thumb.

If he didn't look so cute, I could murder him for stepping into this conversation without being asked to. Great, just great.

"Uh…who are you?" Alexa asked.

"Forgive me, I must apologize for my rudeness," Jareth suddenly said. He took three large steps over to us, and extended his hand out to Alexa. "I'm Jareth."

As Alexa shook his hand, her eyes widened and she looked to me, turning ghostly white. I on the other hand, was having a mini panic attack and wanted to just disappear.

"Jareth? As in… _the_ Jareth?" she then asked.

"I surely hope so. Unless Sarah here is acquainted with another," he responded, forcing a smile.

Speechless, Alexa could only look from Jareth to me, and back and forth again.

"Okay, this is freaking me out," she confessed. "What the fuck is going on?"

Groaning, I put my face into my hands, and wiped them down my cheeks. "Jareth, could you give us a minute alone? Please?"

"Of course," he replied all too fast and ran-walked to my bedroom, closing the door behind him.

I turned my attention back to Alexa, and before I could even say anything about the situation, she spoke first.

"Please tell me it's just a coincidence that you're sleeping with some random dude whose name just happens to be Jareth, with no relation to the guy you were dreaming out," she said.

 _If that will make her feel better…_ "Well… then I'm sleeping with some random dude whose name just happens to be Jareth, with no relation to the guy I have been dreaming about?"

I shrugged, gave her a hesitant smile, and my eyes scrunched together a little, indicating that was the truth I was going to stick with, even though it was obviously not true. But how could I explain this? I could hardly get past the weirdness myself initially, but my willingness to look beyond the suspension of disbelief had allowed me to accept all of this. Alexa? Not so much. She was a skeptic about anything that seemed impossible, hence why she chose medicine as her career; science doesn't lie. Sighing I then added, "Look, I know this seems crazy. But believe me when I say, it's just better that you don't know the whole thing."

"Fuck that," Alexa stated harshly. "You've been dreaming about a man named Jareth for seven years, and all of a sudden you're sleeping with him. Or a guy with this name at least. This is weird, Sarah. You were just wallowing about Paul the last time I saw you, and now you're having sex with someone else? How old is that guy anyway? And where did you meet him?"

Sighing, I stood up from the chair and put my hands behind my head, trying to think about this situation. Jareth just **had** to come out of the room, didn't he? I debated for a few seconds on what to say, then decided I'd tell her the partial truth, I suppose. I dropped my arms and looked Alexa square in the face.

"I met him when I was fifteen," I started to explain. "He was just a guy I met when I was babysitting Toby one day at the park, and I guess he struck a chord with me all these years. The day after you left a few weeks ago, I went to a psychic shop and ran into him. Super random, and super crazy, but weirder things have happened. Anyway, we got coffee to catch up and he took me on a date this past Friday night, and, well…now we're here. It's new, nothing is official, and I have no idea where it's going. That's the truth."

Silence stretched out between us for about a minute before Alexa spoke up again.

"You never told me about this guy," she mentioned. "And you said you didn't know who the guy was from your dreams, or where you got his name from. I knew that didn't make sense. I don't even know how to feel about this, he looks to be almost forty years old, which means he would have been like thirty when you met him. That's creepy, Sarah."

I sat back down, and felt compelled to defend Jareth. "He isn't creepy. It was totally innocent when we talked all those years ago, it isn't like he's a pedophile. I've always been an old soul anyway, so it isn't like I looked super young or acted young. He treated me like an adult."

"You recited plays in the park…" Alexa felt the need to say, raising her eyebrows.

"So?" I questioned back, not understanding what that had to do with anything.

"That's something a kid does. You were just a kid. _We_ were just kids! Has he been stalking you all these years or something?"

"Oh for Pete sakes, no!" I remarked. I groaned and looked up to the ceiling, my patience wearing thin. "No. We recognized each other, and I was the one who initiated everything. He's been… hesitant. He didn't want to come across as pushy or…creepy. Believe me, I thought about that too at first, but I'm twenty five now, soon to be twenty six, and yes, he's thirty nine. So I'm pretty sure we're both consenting adults, Lex."

Alexa continued to narrow her eyes at me, and studied me quizzically. She knew me so well, damnit. Hopefully it was enough to get her off my back for now.

"You called him the Goblin King when you first told me about your dreams. What the hell did that mean?" she then asked.

"I don't know," I replied in an exasperated tone. "Like you said, my imagination gets the best of me sometimes. I must have remembered his face and name, and put him in some fantasy realm. You know how dreams are. Weird shit happens."

"I guess…." was all she said, and then sighed. "I'm sorry, I just don't know what to say or how to feel about this. This kind of thing just doesn't happen in real life."

 _You're telling me,_ I thought. "It's serendipitous. Isn't romanticism your thing?" I teased. "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is your favorite movie, you know. I always make fun of you for believing happy endings like that can happen, and you say they can as opposed to Middle Earth. Well, here's your proof about fairy tale endings."

"Oh shut up," she joked.

"I'm serious!" I said with a smile. "I know it's crazy, but. It happened and…I don't know, he's been really wonderful."

"And Paul? You're just completely over him now?" she inquired.

"Definitely. I had an epiphany after you left the day we unpacked. I know everything seems so sudden, but. It is what it is."

"And you really like this new guy? Jareth? His hair is kind of ridiculous…"

"I like it," I said, chuckling. "And yes, I really like him."

Alexa took a deep breath, and took my hand. "I just want you to be happy, you know that. I'm sorry I came over here so hastily, but I was worried. With Paul calling and all. Plus, you never go so long without talking to me, and I just. I missed you. Don't leave me hanging again, please."

"I won't. I'm sorry too," I replied. "I wanted to call you a few times, but I wasn't ready to explain all of this yet. It barely just registered with me, and I needed time. Still, I should have checked in to let you know I was alive and well."

Alexa gave me an understanding smile, and it wasn't until now that I realized how tired she looked. Her light brown hair was in a messy bun, her mascara a bit smeared, and she had bags under her eyes. For her to come straight here after a twelve hour shift at the hospital must have meant she really was worried, and I felt bad for doing that to her.

"Do you want some coffee?" I asked. "You look beat."

She rubbed her eyes for a few seconds, and put her hands on both cheeks, trying to widen her eyes. "I am exhausted. But I need to go to bed, so I'll skip on the coffee. Thanks though."

"Sure. You can sleep here if you want," I suggested.

"Uh, that's okay," she replied. "Your, boyfriend or whatever he is, is here and…that's awkward."

"How's Patrick, by the way?" I asked, changing subjects.

Alexa smiled, and blushed. "He's good. I've been spending all my free time with him, since my best friend has been MIA."

"I know, I'm sorry. I still want to meet him," I said.

"You will. Soon."

We both stood up together then and I walked her to the door. She turned around to look at me, and gave me a long hug.

"I'll accept this, for your sake. But I intend on meeting him again where I will then conduct a thorough analysis and question the shit out of him and his intentions," she stated. "We're double dating soon, then you can meet Patrick."

I laughed and we pulled away from each other. "Deal. I wouldn't expect anything less from you," I said.

"Remember- don't leave me hanging. I love you."

"I won't. And I love you too," I replied.

Alexa gave me a wave goodbye and headed off. I closed the door, and sighed, thinking how scary that was to explain. _I think I did a pretty good job at convincing her though, if I do say so myself._

I walked back to my bedroom, and opened the door where I found Jareth lying on my bed, looking through one of his crystal balls.

"Hey," I said out loud, closing the door behind me.

"Your friend is wary of me," he indicated, not looking up at me.

"It's nothing personal," I answered back as I carefully joined him in bed. "She's my best friend, so her reaction was normal, I think."

"Indeed. I'm sorry for walking out into the lion's den without your consent," he told me, finally peering up at me. "My timing was impeccable."

"It's okay. Honestly, I'm kind of glad this happened," I admitted. "I don't like keeping you a secret."

"I don't feel that you are, Sarah," he said. "It's nice to have this be just between you and me, for now. The other stuff will come later, when it's meant to."

"Alexa will want to hang out with you, you know. Get to know you and all that good stuff," I reminded him, snuggling up under his arms. "She wants to do a double date."

Jareth chuckled and embraced me. He kissed my forehead and sighed. "I suppose that was to happen sooner or later. We'll need to come up with a backstory I'm assuming. What shall I be here in your world? A painter? Actor? Magician?"

"Slow down, ace. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I said with a soft laugh. "You certainly took her by surprise with your appearance, that's for sure."

"Like I told you before- I'm simply irresistible."

* * *

 **JARETH**

I stayed at Sarah's apartment for several more hours, then explained to her that I had some business to catch up on. She understood and told me she had things to do as well, so I bid her adieu and left, reluctantly. Reality never seemed more mundane the moment I appeared back in my castle and strode to my study. My time spent with Sarah this weekend couldn't have been more perfect, and I felt we were headed in the right direction. Her resilience was astounding, and I was quite surprised at how well she was navigating these new waters with me. She even managed to talk to her friend in a calm manner, and her explanation for our budding relationship couldn't have been more perfect.

The only thing that stayed on my mind was when she told her friend we weren't "official" in any capacity and she didn't know where this was headed between us. I couldn't fault her too much, for I wasn't sure if that was a means to suffice her friend, or if she really wasn't sure where things were going between she and I. I kept telling myself to let it go, and not rush her. Despite our weekend together, things were still green and I needed to give her a chance to wade through all this. My intentions were clear enough, but I wasn't used to waiting on another's affections. The thought made me gloom.

"Jareth!" I suddenly heard being yelled from behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I rolled my eyes and turned around only to find Lucis coming at me at an alarming rate. Something was wrong.

"What is it?" I asked, turning my head skeptically.

"I'm so sorry for doing this. I know you just got back from spending time with your peaches and cream, and I tried telling her you weren't in but-"

"Her, who?" I asked, cutting him off.

"Hello, dear," came a different voice.

I clenched my jaw, and turned around once again, to face none other than my own mother. She was dressed in a velvet olive green dress, with laces presumably closing in on the back. The long sleeves were woven with gold and green decorative leaves onto the floral design, and the colors made her green eyes pop. She had her long blonde, silvery hair worn up in a bun, and she looked ecstatic to see me.

"Mother," was all I said. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She started walking towards me, and took my hands when she finally reached me. "Well, seeing as you haven't responded to my latest letters, I thought I'd drop in to say hello and see how you were. I missed you at the capital recently during court, and, well. You're my son, I wanted to see you."

I scoffed, and dropped our hands so that mine fell out of hers. "If you wanted to see me _then_ , you would have made an effort to do so. You never show up here during any other time, so forgive me for thinking your sudden intrusion is not out of sheer love. No, I believe your reasoning for coming here now is due to something else entirely. Cut the bullshit, please, and tell me the truth."

Lucis looked at me in disbelief; he never enjoyed watching me talk down to my mother, but he would never interfere with her in the room either. My mother looked visibly saddened by my words, her green eyes looking uncertain.

"Do you think so ill of me?" she asked.

I didn't say anything. I merely stood there and continued to watch my mother, head tilting and smiling condescendingly.

"Fine," she said. "You don't believe me, but I did wish to talk to you about something on another subject."

"Here we go," I mumbled to myself.

"It has been brought to my attention that you were quite distracted at the last session of court. I've been hearing rumors that you're affiliated with a certain… _female,_ and you are courting someone. _"_

"What?" I sneered. "Who told you this?"

"That is neither here nor there, son. Have you been seeing somebody?" she asked all too gleefully.

I looked to Lucis, who shrugged, telling me he had nothing to do with this. "What's it to you?" I asked my mother.

"Oh, so you _have_ found someone!" she shouted with joy, bringing her hands to her mouth. "I'd so very much like to meet her."

Rolling my eyes, I moaned out loud from the annoying situation I found myself in. "First of all, no one is meeting anyone."

My mother looked disappointed with my response and dropped her hands to her waist. "You wish to keep her away from me?"

I sighed and couldn't help but feel a tad bit bad with my mother's thwarted expression, but I needed to make my point. "Second of all- I'm not sure who told you I was courting someone, but if you must know…yes, I have been spending time with somebody."

The happy expression appeared on my mother again, and she could hardly contain her excitement. "Oh Jareth, about time! Who is she? Which kingdom is she from? I'd be delighted to hear that it is Clarissa!"

Clarissa had been a Fae who I dallied with quite some time ago, from the Sea Kingdom in the west. Without a doubt one of the most beautiful Fae in the Underground, she is a nasty tart and is only interested in being queen. The only stimulating thing about her is the sex she performs in bed. It was thought throughout the Underground that she and I would wed, but being the perpetual bachelor, I ended things much to her and my mother's dismay.

"No, mother it most certainly is not Clarissa. That affair ended years ago, it's time to move on," I said. "Actually, the girl I'm seeing isn't Fae at all." I looked down at my boots momentarily, afraid to see my mother's reaction. When I looked up again, she was giving me an inquisitive expression.

"Not Fae? Are you seeing an Elf? A nymph, perhaps?" she asked, a worried look ridden upon her hardly aging face.

"What makes you think she isn't a troll?" I teased.

Mother tilted her head, her face reading, _please. As if that would happen._

I laughed softly and straightened myself up for this announcement to my mother. "She's none of the above, actually. Her name is Sarah. She's…" _here goes nothing._ "Human."

It took at least a minute before my mother said anything, her eyes wide and confused at my statement. "Hu…human? Please tell me you are joking," my mother said, with narrowed eyes.

I stared back with no look of abashment in my eyes. "I'm not."

"Jareth…" she began.

"I don't want to hear it, mother," I interrupted, waving my hand. "Save your spiel for someone else." She clearly didn't want to listen to me, and continued.

"…You are a king of one of the most, if not the most, prominent kingdoms in the Underground! And you've been frittering away with a _mortal girl?_ How did this happen?"

"That's none of your concern," I replied. "Maybe if you had been here in last, oh I don't know, several hundred years or so, I'd be more than happy to talk to you about this and _her._ But, since you weren't, I'm afraid it doesn't involve you and I'm not interested in divulging any more than I need to right now."

"Jareth. I understand you harbor ill feelings towards me, and…while I don't necessarily blame you, it breaks my heart to know that you do. I am so sorry you felt abandoned by me, but this is much bigger than you and I. Bringing a mortal girl to the Underground could have serious repercussions, and you know this. If you would just talk to me, perhaps I could help you…"

"I don't need your help, mother. I've thought about this plenty. She isn't just some random human, she beat the Labyrinth, and so she has status here." The words were out of my mouth before I even realized what I had just told my mother. _Damn._

"She…she beat the Labyrinth? She was a runner?" my mother inquired.

Sighing, I replied, "Yes. Ten years ago. It's a very long, and complicated story."

"I have time…" she responded, in a soft voice.

 _Oh, what the hell._ "Fine. Let's go to my study," I said, offering my arm.

My mother gladly took it and we sifted to the room, leaving poor Lucis alone.

* * *

After an hour or so had past, my mother was spun up with all that had happened with Sarah in the past and the most recent events. Luckily I had wine to relax myself, for it was necessary. My mother could be so dramatic.

"Oh, Jareth, that is all so romantic," she said, putting her hand on her heart. "And the Labyrinth fully supports you on this?"

"It would appear so," I said, sipping my wine casually in my chair.

My mother sat up suddenly and paced back and forth in my study; she seemed anxious. "Darling, I can't help but think that this is still a dangerous game you play, regardless if the girl is one of the Labyrinth's Champions."

"Being that is she is the only human to have done so, she might as well be deemed _the_ Champion of the Labyrinth. Other Fae and beings here hardly count."

She stopped her pacing and stood in one spot, looking straight at me. "Still- she's human, and you know much that is frowned upon here."

"She's able to become Fae, mother," I said rolling my eyes. "Like I give a fuck what other's think, anyway."

"Language, Jareth," she scolded me and then sighed. "A changeling and a blood Fae are quite different, son. Aren't you worried she will be looked down upon as your queen?"

"Let's not race to the finish line," I stated, standing up. "Sarah and I are still very much getting to know one another, and logistics nor titles are topics we have even thought about yet. Good lord. I've invited her to the fall festival, and I'm hoping she says yes."

My mother's green eyes lit up for a brief second, then she frowned. "Is that a wise thing to do?"

"You know, being that you are my mother, I had hoped you of all Fae would support me. I should have known otherwise."

Walking over to me, my mother grabbed my hands again. "Jareth, I do support you in this. If she were just any random girl from the streets Above I'd argue against it, but she isn't just _anyone._ Convincing others might be hard, but I'll be there every step of the way with you, if you'll allow me. I simply don't want you to scare the girl off by bringing her here so soon. You know how our kind can be."

"I understand. I'll let Sarah decide, though. She knows her limits."

"What does she look like?" my mother randomly asked, a smile taking over her face.

I furrowed my brows at her sudden question, but smiled when I thought of Sarah. "She's beautiful. She has raven colored hair, piercing, jade-green eyes, her skin is has a warm and glowy complexion…she's absolutely perfect."

"And you're in love with her," my mother added.

I turned my head quickly to face my mother again, and I could feel my skin turning red. "That's a bit presumptuous, don't you think?"

"Oh, Jareth. You and I may have lost our way with one another, but you'll always be my little boy. You grew in my belly. And I know you. More than you think I do. You're just like your father: a closet romantic. Plus, it is written all over your face, darling. Anybody could tell, no wonder Orion pointed it out to me."

"Orion?" I repeated. "He's the one who told you I was _distracted?_ "

My mother sighed, as if realizing her mistake, but it was too late. "Yes, Orion was the one who told me. He has a right to be worried, Jareth. You rule over the Labyrinth, after all. If your head and heart are preoccupied, you might lose focus. At least…that's what he thought."

 _Interesting._ "Hmm. Perhaps Orion and I need to have words with each other soon. I'd _hate_ to worry him and others."

"Play nice, Jareth. Look love, I really must be off now. May I…may I come back to visit you soon?"

I contemplated my mother's question for a few seconds before saying, "Of course. This will always be your home, mother."

She gave me a hug and kissed my cheek. "I love you, Jareth. Never doubt that."

She turned away from me before I could even respond, most likely not wanting to feel rejected, leaving me to feel guilty. My thoughts soon turned back to Orion though, and I really did not understand his motivation for needing to tell my mother about last court session and my obvious lack of involvement. How did he know I was seeing Sarah? Or was he bluffing, and assuming I was seeing someone?

So many questions. My father's last words went through my mind just then, as he lay dying on that battlefield during the wraith war all those years ago.

 _Trust no one, Jareth. Our legacy was built upon blood and death, and I fear an attempt will be made to end it that way. They will try to take it all away from you. Trust. No one._

* * *

 **AN: So, there's that! Another chapter down. More interesting stuff to come later. I promise ;) please review, they make me happy! Always like to see someone's thoughts, the good and bad. Thanks, guys!**

 **PS- Characters have been updated at the end of chapter 1 :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Lemons below, woo hoo! Wasn't anticipating on updating so soon, but when the moment strikes to write you write. Right?  
**

* * *

 **SARAH**

I sat in a work meeting, bored out of my mind, hoping my boss would cease his talking soon. Work had been hell this past week and a half, and I was so ready for the weekend. I had always loved my job, but recently things were getting crazy in the office, and I found myself losing the passion I once had for law. Maybe I needed a new change of scenery? I quickly dismissed the thought as fast as it came, for finding a good paying job in New York City was like trying to find the perfect pair of jeans or boyfriend- both were seemingly impossible, but you don't just let either go when you've found the perfect fit. Speaking of boyfriends…

I hadn't seen Jareth in a little over a week, though he routinely sent me letters each night letting me know he was thinking about me. I was mildly disappointed when he said he was needed at his castle for a while, which would prohibit him from seeing me until this Thursday night. Which was tonight.

I still had no idea what to label him as, being that everything was still so new, but I didn't want to rush titles so soon anyway; I liked how things were for the time being, and there was still so much more we needed to know about each other. I mentally laughed at the thought of changing my Facebook status to **"In a Relationship with Jareth, The Goblin King."** While it had a nice ring to it, I just wasn't ready to take that next step yet and flat out ask him, _hey Jareth, will you be my boyfriend_? It was silly. And as much I loved spending time with him and despite the fact I really was falling for him, I still hardly knew him and I was scared what his intentions would be the moment I made things official. He was a king after all…I'm sure he has certain expectations that I don't even want to think about. My thoughts were interrupted when I suddenly heard my name being called out by my once-nice-suddenly-turned-asshole boss.

"Sarah, Ibeeth, and Stephanie, you three will look into the gaming regulations I just mentioned and write an analysis on them. I don't care how it gets done, figure it out between the three of you, and have the analysis to me before the end of the workday."

I snarled my lip and looked down to my notes, which had 'Jareth' written all over the place in different types of handwriting. When the hell did I become ten years old again? The meeting was adjourned five minutes later and as I sat up, my coworkers Stephanie and Ibeeth stood up with me. They both worked in my station and had become a couple of my closest friends throughout the years.

Stephanie was a New York native with an east coast accent; she was a rather tall yet plump gal, with shoulder length brown hair, freckles on her face, and had very striking green eyes. My friend Ibeeth was the complete opposite, for she was Hispanic and had dark features; she was totally gorgeous with her tan skin, brown hair and golden highlights, and caramel eyes. I rolled my eyes at them when we all joined together, letting them know I too think our boss had been a turd.

"I don't know what crawled up Larry's ass, but I swear he's been a raving jerk for the last couple of weeks," Stephanie said.

"I know, right?" I said in agreement. "Luckily he was still nice when I called out a few Monday's ago."

"Did you skip work to hang out with your new boyfriend?" Ibeeth asked, nudging my arm with hers.

I could feel my face redden, and I became intensely hot all of a sudden. "What? I don't have a boyfriend…"

Ibeeth laughed and rolled her eyes playfully, nudging me again. "You can't fool us, Sarah. I saw your scribbled notes with _Jareth_ written all over the place," she chuckled. "I thought you and Paul just broke up? Way to bounce back, girl!"

"We did, hence why I don't have an _official_ boyfriend. But since you're being nosey, yes, I have been kind of seeing someone," I answered proudly.

"Oh my gosh, who is he!" Stephanie asked, eyes wide open.

Before I could answer, the secretary on our floor, Karen, peeked her head in and said, "Sarah? You have a delivery. And can you _please_ tell me where I can find someone who'll send me flowers like that?"

"Flowers?" I repeated. I walked out of the conference room, with Stephanie and Ibeeth trailing behind me and reached my desk a few seconds later. Sitting there on top, was the most beautiful flower arrangement I had ever seen. I knew next to nothing about flowers, and could only make out the roses, but there were several other kinds of flowers mixed in, ranging from blue to red to yellow, and there were even crystal flowers added. They smelled heavenly, too.

"Wow, those are gorgeous," I heard Stephanie say from behind me. "Who sent them?"

"Who do you think?" Ibeeth answered. "Obviously they're from Sarah's new boy toy, _Jareth_."

I smiled to myself, ignoring my friends' comments and saw that there was a note accompanied with the bouquet.

 _Sarah-_

 _These flowers were handpicked by myself, with the help of an old friend of yours. I wanted to brighten up your day and I sincerely hope you enjoy them. I cannot wait to see you tonight. It has been too long. Have a splendid rest of your day, Precious._

 _With Love,_

 _Jareth._

The butterflies in my stomach were fluttering. _I thought romance wasn't in your repertoire, Jareth? And what did he mean by 'old friend'?_

"So his name _is_ Jareth, huh?" Ibeeth said.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that Ibeeth and Stephanie were hovering over me to catch a read of the note, and clearly they got a full view.

"Yes, his name is Jareth," I replied begrudgingly. "But it's nothing super serious yet."

I put the note back down, and took a seat at my desk, not wanting to get into this right now. But of course- with them being girls, neither one of them could help themselves.

"Not serious my ass," Stephanie remarked. "Tell us about him!"

Just as I was about to answer -albeit reluctantly- my boss swooped in and saved the day.

"Ladies- need I remind you that the analysis I asked for needs to be completed by _today,_ so if you could kindly conclude your conversation for the time being and do as I asked, I would appreciate it."

He walked away seconds later, and I shrugged, letting my friends know they'd have to take a raincheck. They walked back to their desks mumbling about Larry, and all I could do was smile, knowing I was about to see Jareth in approximately four hours. My smile faded away though when my mind swerved back to my thoughts from earlier about where things were going between the two of us. I frowned, knowing I would need to talk to Jareth about some things and I only hoped he wouldn't take it the wrong way.

* * *

I hastily hurried home after work, for Jareth had said he'd be over at 6:30 pm in yesterday's letter, which meant I only had thirty minutes to freshen up. Kicking off my heels when I entered my apartment, I set the flowers I got from him down in the center of my coffee table, and then went to my bedroom to tidy up. I looked at myself in the mirror before undressing and took a quick shower. When I felt cleaner and more refreshed, I walked back to the living room wearing nothing but my black, silk robe to grab glasses of wine, only to find Jareth standing by the couch. He was wearing tight leather breeches, his usual boots, and a sexy black tunic that showed off his chest and the talisman he wore around his neck.

I didn't expect him here so soon, but I couldn't complain- he looked mighty fine. "Excuse me," I said from the threshold of the room. "I'm waiting for Jareth- you know, the big old bad Goblin King; the Fae who doesn't have romance in his repertoire."

Jareth grinned sheepishly, a boyish smile so at odds with the mature sexuality of his entire demeanor. "I don't think about it that way. I just tried to guess what might please you, and then I gave it a shot, hoping for the best."

" _You_ please me. Thank you for the flowers though, they were beautiful." I crossed to him, the black robe swaying around my legs. I loved that we were matching. Stopping in front of him, I drank in the beauty of his face and the sexy way the ends of his hair caressed the top of his shoulders. I ran my palms down his biceps, squeezing the hard muscle gently before stepping into him and pressing my face into his chest.

"What's wrong, Precious?" he asked, wrapping his arms around me.

I sighed, and nuzzled my nose between his pecs, feeling the tickle of crisp hair against my cheek and breathing in the reassuring, familiar scent of his skin. "I missed you. And I just had a long day, I guess."

"Is that all?" he asked.

I looked up to him then and saw his worried expression. I needed to tell him. "And I've been thinking about some things…"

Jareth reluctantly let me go when I pulled away from him. I curled up on the couch with my legs tucked underneath me, and he poured us both glasses of the wine I had laid out for us earlier before taking a seat, taking his boots off in the process. Leaning toward me, he draped one arm over the back of the sofa and held his glass with the other hand, giving me every bit of his attention.

I sipped my wine before saying anything. "Okay. Here goes." I took a deep breath, feeling dizzy from the elevated rate of my pulse. Why was I so nervous? It isn't like I was ending things with him. "I don't need to state the obvious and say that this entire journey between us has been…crazy and, well, fast, in a sense. Because we both know it has been. But despite that…I feel like I've known you forever, and I guess I sort of have in a way. Which is why it wasn't hard for me to accept you to begin with, and it's why I'm here with you now- I trust you. Explicitly."

His fingers sifted through my shower-damp hair. "I'm glad."

I caught his fingers and then held his hand in my lap, while looking down into my glass. "I'd be lying to you and myself if I said I didn't have strong feelings for you. And I know you do for me. With that being said…I'm not quite sure where _you_ see this going. And maybe this is way too soon to even talk about this, I mean it's only been like a month since everything happened. But I couldn't help but freak out a little bit earlier thinking how you're a king, and you run a kingdom, and all that other stuff that comes with that occupation, and I'm worried that you're going to expect certain things from me the moment I make this relationship 'official'; things that I just can't, and won't, give you anytime soon. I mean, we're still getting to know one another...I guess what I'm asking is…where do you see this going and what do you expect out of it?"

Our eyes met. Something passed between us with that small admission of mine, and I'm assuming it made it easier for him to say what came next.

"I want to be with you," he said matter of fact. "I thought I made that clear from the get go. As far as what I expect from you in return though…not a damn thing. I _hope_ for reciprocated feelings, of course."

"Oh," was all I said.

"Oh?" he repeated. "What did you expect me to say, Sarah? That I intend for you to move to the Underground with me and make you my wife and queen in a fortnight so you can provide me with heirs as soon as possible?"

"Well, yeah…something like that, I guess," I replied, looking down to my glass again, feeling somewhat ashamed.

"I have to say, I'm a bit insulted that you would think that of me," Jareth said as he set his glass down on the table. "I may not understand human customs that well Sarah, but I know enough to comprehend the fact that one, you just got out of a serious relationship, so you may be hesitant to jump into another right away; two, your life is here, and I don't expect you to change everything about yourself for me anytime soon; and three, I respect you enough to not pressure you into anything you don't want to do. I have no intention of impeding your life."

 _Well now I feel like a royal asshole._ "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I just…I guess I'm scared. I'm scared of my feelings for you, because they literally came out of nowhere and seemingly happened over night; I'm mostly scared that this won't work because you live in some other world and I live here; and I'm scared to go with you to the festival and meet your kind. I don't want to embarrass you."

" _Embarrass_ me?" he snapped. "Where is this all coming from? First of all Sarah, I'd dismantle anybody who made you feel inferior, should you attend the ball with me. Secondly…you could never embarrass me. While it's unorthodox for Fae, especially a king, to be with a human, I could care less what others think about me. It takes a lot, if anything, to make me feel _embarrassed._ Plus, you aren't just _any_ human, if it makes you feel better. Please don't feel distressed over something that hasn't proven to be an issue or threat yet. All I care about is that you're here with me. We can worry about the trivial stuff when and if it comes."

A shiver moved through me, because I believed him. It was in his face. His voice. In the energy he exuded and his sharply honed focus. He wasn't just dark and dangerous in his looks; Jareth was someone who got what he wanted, whatever it took, and that fact unnerved me, which is why I was so nervous thinking about his intentions towards me.

I pushed to my feet. "I feel ridiculous now, for even bringing any of this up. It's a silly conversation, and it isn't worth stressing over right now, you're right." I faced away from him, crossing my arms, and looked into my empty fireplace.

I heard Jareth sigh, and he came up from behind me. "Your feelings matter, Sarah. _You're_ worth it, damn it. I never want you to feel you can't come and talk to me about something, no matter how ridiculous it may seem to you. Yes, things have been…happening at a rapid pace between us, but you don't see me complaining. I've been waiting for you for _ten_ years, and I'm not letting you go so easily now. Which means I have no choice but to be patient, and if that means letting you dictate how things are between us for a while for you to feel comfortable then so be it. I'm not going to lie though, I would prefer you all to myself if that means anything."

I smiled at his last words and tightened the belt on my robe as Jareth held me. He wanted to be exclusive.

"What do _you_ want, Sarah, is the better question," he suddenly said, kissing the tip of my ear.

Turning to face him, I simply replied, "You. I just want you."

He chuckled. "You already have me. I am your slave."

I narrowed my eyes when he said that, the words sounding so strangely familiar. I realized that had been happening several times; him saying certain things which triggered weird feelings inside me. He must have noticed my sudden change in demeanor, because he then asked, "What is it?"

Shaking my head and not giving him eye contact, I said, "Nothing. It's just…sometimes the things you say sound weirdly familiar. Like I've heard it somewhere before, I just can't place when and where." When I peered back up at him, he was smiling, as though he knew something I didn't. "Now you're the one hiding something," I added.

"I believe it's your repressed memories trying to come to light," he said in an eager voice. "You're having what you call…déjà vu. Except you really did experience those certain situations."

 _Shit._ I hadn't thought much about my memories, or what I was going to do about them. I was still hesitant on having them back, but there was a piece of me who was curious and it would sure help in times like these when I wanted to understand something that clearly transpired between us.

"Can I ask you a question?" I suddenly asked Jareth.

"Of course."

"When I dreamt about you in the past…we were usually always in a ballroom. There were people around us, your people I'm assuming, and while their faces have always mostly been kind of fuzzy, I could barely make out that they were all wearing masks."

He stared at me, and raised an eyebrow. "What's your question, Precious?"

"Did that…is that ballroom a real event that took place between us? It just seems a bit too coincidental now that I think about it."

Jareth sighed and looked down to the floor for a brief second. "Yes. Well, kind of."

"Kind of?" I questioned.

He looked back to me again, his blue eyes revealing worry behind them. "This is why I would very much like you to have your memories back. If I try explaining to you the reason for the ballroom, you might be upset with me."

"Why would I be upset with you?"

"It's complicated," was all he said.

"Everything with you usually is," I replied chuckling. "It couldn't have been that bad if I was forcing myself to relive and remember it all these years."

Sighing heavily, Jareth said, "Fine. I'll tell you on one condition."

I crossed my arms. "And that is?"

"You have to promise you won't be upset."

"Fine, sure, I promise," I answered waving my hand passively.

Pursing his lips and looking hesitant, Jareth began to explain the dream. "During your run in the Labyrinth, I was astonished at how well you were doing. I was also a tad peeved, seeing that you were on the road to success, and as a means to slow you down, I…I had Hoggle, who was your friend and tour guide so to speak, give you a magic-infused peach. It put you in a dream-like sequence with the intention to make you forget your mission. I wove the trance from your desires, and apparently… you desired _me_ , much to my surprise and delight, so I included myself in the dream. But being that you were still quite young, however, you didn't know how to navigate those kinds of feelings, so I spun up an innocent enough ballroom event. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone- entice and enchant you, _and_ make you forget everything. I should have known the spell wouldn't work, you're more stubborn than I am, I think. You saw through the charade and broke free, granted, your memories did leave you, if but for a moment."

I stared blankly at Jareth and tried wrapping my head around his words. This just got weirder and weirder. I promised him I wouldn't get upset, but I couldn't help but feel a little pissed. He had made me hallucinate for goodness sakes!

"So…you essentially _drugged_ me to get me like you _and_ you tried stopping me from winning? What a way to seduce me. Has that worked out well for you in the past with other women?" I asked, resting my hands on my hips.

Jareth rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. I've never done that to another human, and besides, my main intention was to get you to forget about Toby. The attempt at seduction was a later thought. Don't make me out to be a _creep_ again, as you so nicely pointed out before."

"I'm not, but…you tried setting me up for failure. That isn't very kind of you, you jerk."

"Yes well. I lose control around you and I had a role to play. Whether you agree with it or not, it had to happen," he rationalized, pulling me into him. "There- that's the explanation as to why you had that specific dream all these years."

I buried my face in his chest again, and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Then another thought hit me. "Who's Hoggle again?" I asked, pulling my face away to look up at him.

"A story best served for another time. Let's just say...he's the one mentioned in the note I sent you earlier. Right now, all I want to do is ravish you."

Before I could even object, Jareth's mouth slid over mine, as he picked me up and I involuntarily wrapped my legs around him, surrendering to his whims. He had stealthily loosened the sash of my robe which shrugged off of me on its own accord, halting at my waist. He stumbled to the couch and fell, catching our combined weight with one outstretched hand.

I sprawled beneath him, breathless, while he slid to his knees on the floor, glided the remainder of my robe off, and then finally tongued my cleft. He was rough and impatient, lacking the finesse I'd become used to, but you wouldn't hear me complaining. He then unbuttoned his pants, threw his shirt off, and levered over me only to shove his throbbing hard on into me. I wasn't yet fully wet and the burn made me gasp, and then his thumb was on my clit, rubbing in circles that had my hips churning.

"Ugh," I moaned, raking my nails down his back. "Harder, Jareth."

" _Sarah,"_ he groaned and his mouth covered mine. He fisted my damp hair, holding me still as he lunged again and again, pounding hard and deep. He kicked off the armrest with one foot, powering into me, driving toward his orgasm with single-minded ferocity. The rhythmic slap of his heavy balls against the curve of my buttocks and the harshness of his possessive litany drove me insane with lust. I felt myself quickening with every twinge of pain, felt my sex tightening with my growing arousal.

With a long, guttural groan he started coming, his flexing body quaking as he emptied himself inside me. I held him as he climaxed, stroking his back, pressing kisses along his shoulder.

"Hold on," he said roughly, pushing his hands beneath me and flattening my breasts against him.

Jareth pulled me up, then sat down with me straddling his hips. I was slick from his orgasm, making it easy for him to push back inside me. His hands brushed the hair away from my face, and he kissed the tip of my nose, still cupping my cheeks. "Do you feel that, Sarah?" he asked as he thrust up into me, making me cry out.

"I'm always going half-crazy with wanting you," he growled. "If anything could change that, I would've done it before we got this far. Understand?"

My hands wrapped around his waist. "Yes."

"Earlier you said you wanted _just_ me. Show me just how much you do." His face was flushed and damp, his eyes dark and turbulent. "I need to know that losing control sometimes doesn't mean I'll lose _you_."

I pulled his palms from my face and urged them down my breasts. When he cupped them, I splayed my hands on his shoulders and rocked my hips. He was semi hard, yet quickly thickened as I began to undulate. His fingers on my nipples, rolling and tugging, sent waves of pleasure through me, the gentle stimulation arrowing to my core. When he urged me closer and took a hardened tip in his mouth I cried out, my body igniting with need for more.

Clenching my thighs, I lifted. I closed my eyes to focus on the way he felt as he slid out; then I bit my lip at the way he stretched me sliding back in.

"That's it," he murmured, licking across my chest to my other nipple, fluttering his tongue over the tight, aching tip. "Come for me. I need you to come riding my cock."

Hearing him talk that way only spurred me on, and I rolled my hips, relishing the exquisite feel of him filling me so perfectly. I had no shame, no regrets as I worked myself into a frenzy on his stiff penis, adjusting the angle so that the thick crown rubbed right where I needed it.

"Jareth," I breathed. "Ugh, fuck!"

"You're so beautiful." He gripped the back of my neck in one hand and my waist in the other, arching his hips to push a little deeper. "So sexy. I'm going to come for you again. That's what you do to me, Sarah. It's never enough."

I whimpered as everything tightened, as the sweet tension built from the rhythmic strokes. I was panting and frantic, pumping my hips. Reaching between my legs, I rubbed my clit with the pads of my fingers, hastening the climax.

Jareth gasped, his head thrown back into the sofa cushion, his neck corded with strain. "Mmm, I can feel you getting ready to come. Your pussy gets so hot and tight, so greedy."

That did it; his words and his voice pushed me over. I cried out when the first hard tremor hit me, then again as the orgasm rippled through my body, my sex spasming around Jareth's steely erection. Teeth grinding audibly, he held on until the clenches began to fade; then he clutched my hips aloft and pumped upward into me. Once, twice. On the third deep thrust, he growled my name and spurted hotly, laying the last of my fears and doubts to rest.

* * *

I don't know how long we sprawled on the couch like that, connected and close, my head on his shoulder and his hands caressing the curve of my spine. Jareth pressed his lips to my temple and whispered, "You're amazing, you know that?"

Lifting my head, I searched his face. He was impossibly gorgeous, damnit. I had trouble taking it in at times. "Right back at you, ace. I'm sorry for the serious conversation earlier. I over think things sometimes."

"Don't say that. I want to know everything, every part of you, inside and out, every detail."

"A woman has to have some secrets," I teased.

"I don't want you to have any with me." An arm banded around my hips, urging me against him, reminding me – as if I could forget – that he was still inside me. "I'm going to possess you, Sarah. It's only fair since you've possessed me."

A statement like that should have had me worried, but it had the opposite effect on me instead and it was sexy as hell. "Well what about your secrets, Jareth?" I asked.

His face smoothed into an emotionless mask, an act so easily accomplished I knew it had become second nature to him. "I started from scratch when I met you again. Everything I thought I was, everything I thought I needed…" He shook his head. "We're figuring out who I am together. You're the only one who knows me like this."

But I didn't. Not really. I was still figuring him out, learning him bit by bit, but he was still a mystery to me in so many ways.

"Sarah…If you just tell me what you want—" His throat worked on a swallow. "I will be good at this, if you give me the chance. Don't doubt or give up on us. On me."

 _Jesus._ Where was this coming from? I knew I had my insecurities and doubts, but Jareth was really pouring his heart out right now, and I didn't know the reason for it. It was as though he was too afraid of losing me all over again, and the thought was shredding me. A few words, a desperate look, and I was cut wide open. I touched his face, his hair, and his shoulders.

"I do need something from you, Jareth," I said.

"Anything. Just tell me what it is."

"Every day…I need you to tell me something I don't know about you. Something insightful, no matter how small. I need you to promise me that you will."

Jareth eyed me warily. "Whatever I want?"

I nodded, unsure of myself and what I hoped to get out of him.

He exhaled harshly. "Okay."

I kissed him softly, a silent show of thanks. Nuzzling his nose against mine, he asked, "Do you wish to eat soon? I'm quite famished."

"Like eat out?" I asked, sitting up all the way.

"If you wish."

"Are you sure we should go out?"

"I want to go on another date with you," he said, smiling.

There was no way I could say no to that. He looked adorable. "Sounds…romantic. And irresistible."

His joyful smile was my reward, as was the shower we took to clean up. I had already showered of course, but I loved the intimacy of washing his body as much as I loved the feel of his palms gliding over me. When I took his hand and put it between my legs, urging two of his fingers inside me, I saw the familiar and very welcome heat in his eyes as he felt the slick essence he'd left behind.

He kissed me and murmured, "Mine."

Now that was a title I could live with.

* * *

 **AN: No Jareth POV in this chapter. But! J+S getting to know each other more :) I'm thinking 2-3 more chapters, my friends and a certain ball is coming soon. but- the story won't be totally over. I hope you enjoyed this one!**


	16. Chapter 16

**JARETH**

The next morning dawned with an odd surreality. I laid in bed next to Sarah, who was still sleeping peacefully. The energy between us felt gloriously different, and it was as though a huge weight had been lifted off our shoulders. I'll admit, I wasn't quite prepared when Sarah opened up to me about her fears and concerns last evening, and I was even more caught off guard with myself and my own sudden vulnerability throughout the night.

I wasn't lying to her when I said no one had seen that side to me- she had no idea the kind of effect she had on me, and her worries latched onto me like a damn disease. I wasn't used to feeling so insecure, but I suppose it was all for the best; despite the rawness of our conversations, I couldn't help but feel they made us that much closer, and I'd be damned if anything got in the way of us now.

I held her in my arms and smiled to myself when I thought about our impromptu date and how she had surprised me at dinner by agreeing to accompany me to the fall festival next month. I was delighted to hear that she would come with me, and my elation carried on through the night in the woes of passion. Making love to Sarah was becoming my favorite past time activity, and I simply could not get enough of her. It seemed the feeling was mutual, or so I hoped.

I listened to her heartbeat and the slow, even sounds of her breath. I inhaled deeply, relishing the mix of her personal scent mixed with the scent of lust and the sex we'd engaged in mere hours ago. As I nuzzled my face in the crook of her neck, the most Gods awful sound went off, bringing me out of my euphoria.

 _*beep! beep! beep!*_

I immediately rolled away from Sarah and laid on my back, putting my hands over my ears and cursed much louder than necessary.

Sarah moaned and grumbled something incoherent, but she didn't seem pleased with the noise either. The sound continued, and after several seconds Sarah sat up and reached over to me grab that odd device she uses regularly from her nightstand. A cell phone, she called it? She hit something on the contraption, making the noise stop, and plopped back down on her side of the bed, rubbing her eyes.

"What was that?" I asked.

"An alarm. I need it to wake myself up so I can get to work on time," she replied groggily, and turned to her side away from me.

 _Someone is grumpy today._ "You require something to wake you up at 6:00 am to do this?" I asked, not understanding why she couldn't just wake herself up naturally. That thing was worse than the devil himself.

"Every weekday. God I'm so tired," she said yawning. "Lesson learned: having sex at three in the morning on a work night is not a good idea."

I couldn't help but chuckle, and took her into my arms again where she then groaned and kept her eyes closed. "On the contrary, there's nothing better than that," I told her kissing her neck. "I rather enjoyed it."

Sarah was definitely grumpy all right- she forced her way out of my arms and laid face first on her pillow, muffling words into it.

"What did you say, Precious? You'll have to speak more clearly," I teased, hovering over her.

She lifted her head to face me, her hair a tousled mess. "I said…that's easy for you to say. Nothing makes you tired, you crazy other worldly being."

I tilted my head and ran my hands down the curvature of her spine, stopping when I reached her tailbone. I felt shivers emanate from her skin, and smiled at her body's response. "Plenty makes me tired," I assured her. "Just not you."

Sarah flipped over and I reveled in the beauty of her bare face. She tried giving me a serious look, but failed when I kissed her forehead.

"I thought you enjoyed what happened earlier this morning. While it was happening, I mean," I said.

"I loved it," she answered back with quiet conviction. "I mean…if you'd like to top me again in the future, I'm definitely game. But maybe do it on a weekend next time, you sex fiend."

She smiled and gave me a quick peck on the lips before she left the bed. I watched her walk to the bathroom as I sprawled my hands behind my head, rejoicing in the fact that this could be how I wake up every day. Could there be anything more perfect?

* * *

A little over an hour later, I watched Sarah as she scrambled to get ready and couldn't help but laugh to myself as she cursed under her breath, trying to situate her heels. I may or may not have joined her in the shower moments after she got in, putting her twenty minutes behind schedule.

"That's it," she began to say, still bent over adjusting one of the straps. "No more sex for you."

I pushed to my feet and walked over to Sarah, kneeling on the floor to help her. She sighed and brushed her hair out of her face, standing up straight, looking completely flushed.

"Do you have any idea how crazy I am about you?" I murmured, looking up to her while caressing her calve.

"You're crazy all right, if you think I'm going to put up with being sexified every waking minute by you."

I finished fixing Sarah's shoe, and stood up, putting my hands on her waist. "Come, come, Sarah. I know you have a hardy sexual appetite lurking in there somewhere. I'm merely awakening it for you."

"More like dominating me, actually."

My mouth sealed over hers, my arms caging her. I carried her to a wall and restrained her against it, my hands banding her wrists and lifting them high above her head. Trapped, she could do nothing and sagged into my embrace.

"See how easily you submit when I take over? And it feels good, doesn't it? It feels right."

"That's not fair," she said, staring at me.

"Still saying that line, are you? And of course it's fair, because it's true."

"I can't help it that you turn me on," she muttered. "My body is physiologically supposed to soften and relax, so you can shove your big, huge, perfect, co-"

Sarah's words were interrupted when that damn phone of hers went off again, except this time it was doing some frantic buzzing noise instead of that awful alarm. She looked to her phone, then back to me.

"I have to answer that. Can you let go of me Mr. Sex Crazed? I'm already running late."

I pursed my lips and reluctantly let her go, so she could speak to whomever was interrupting us. As I listened in on her conversation, I could make out that she was being asked to get something before she went into work. She rolled her eyes but complied with the request and ended the discussion.

"Before you poof me to work, can you drop me off at the nearest Starbucks? I need to get my maniac boss some coffee."

I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. "It isn't _poofing,_ for the millionth time. I don't _poof,_ I'm not a fairy."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go fairy boy," she said, grabbing her purse, then my hand.

I mumbled to myself, my confidence suddenly shrinking from being compared to a fairy. Sarah was lucky she wasn't a goblin.

* * *

After sifting Sarah to work, I went back to her apartment; there was something I needed to do, but I had been holding off on doing so as a means to not interfere. My curiosity won out though – once again – and got the better of me.

I walked slowly to Sarah's room and looked around to make sure I was alone, as if someone would catch me in the act. I let out a deep sigh before opening her nightstand drawer and took that not-so-innocent book out of it. Peering through it once more, I was still concerned about its origins and _why_ it was given to Sarah. I snarled at the thought of its dubious intentions and needed to bring to it Lucis and see what his thoughts on it were.

Once I was back at the castle, I wasted no time in looking for him. At this time in the morning, he was usually in the dining hall and that's exactly where I found him- reading a book and eating. He looked up to me with a mouth full of food when I entered, wide eyed, and set his book down.

"Well g'morning to you," he announced, trying to chew his food. "Wasn't expecting you back so early."

I rolled my eyes at his lack of manners and sat down at the head of the table, a chair away from him.

"Good morning," I replied dead toned. "Are you quite finished?"

Lucis finally swallowed his food and sipped his water slowly. "Actually no, I just started eating," he told me several seconds later. "Though I can tell I won't be able to finish, given that crazy look in your eyes. Now what happened?"

I threw the book from Sarah's home on the table and watched it slide towards Lucis. He looked at the book in confusion, then back to me. As I waited for an answer, I leaned back in my chair to get comfortable and placed my fingers along my mouth.

"Well?" I asked, rather impatiently. "Aren't you going to pick it up and read it?"

Lucis sighed and took the book in his hands. "Is this what you were explaining to me several weeks ago?"

I merely nodded.

"I thought you would eventually relent on this issue," Lucis said exasperatedly. "Why are you so concerned with some book that talks about our world again?"

"Just read through it please, and tell me what you think," I necessitated.

Lucis did as I asked and skimmed the pages until he reached the section that discussed The Underground presumably. I watched him as he read it, his eyes narrowing while doing so. He flipped a couple of pages and then closed the book a few minutes later.

"Well, like you said, there are pages missing indeed," he stated. "So what?"

"You don't find that book nor the fact it has pages missing, _troubling?_ " I asked him. "Why would a book with torn out pages be given to Sarah? Why would it have been given to her at all?"

"Perhaps the woman who gave it to Sarah really did want her to know a little bit about the Labyrinth and the Underground since she's sleeping with a Fae who hails from there. And maybe she didn't know it had missing pages," Lucis said optimistically, sliding the book back towards me.

"I highly doubt that," I countered. "Tell me- what do you think those missing pages discussed?"

Lucis shrugged and widened his eyes, thinking of the possibilities. "I'm not sure, but if I had to guess…I would assume it gives a rather good spiel on this kingdom, and specifically- its current rulers. And not in a positive light."

I gave Lucis a half smile, indicating I was pleased with his answer. "Indeed. Want to know what I think? I think…that book was written not as a little _history lesson_ per se, but acted as propaganda once upon a time, under the guise of a mythology book. Further, I think those specific pages that were ripped out was done so on purpose before the book was given to Sarah. As I may or may not have told you before, the woman who gave it to Sarah knows everything about our situation. And she believes her, wholeheartedly."

Lucis tilted his head, and looked to the ground momentarily before peering back up to me. "You said before you think this woman, Angel, was hoping Sarah's curiosity about you and our world would win out and she'd come to you and eventually ask about the book and the Underground. Or go back to the other woman in time."

"Yes, and we both know Sarah _did_ question me about the book. She showed it to me after all. She hasn't gone back to that psychic shop though, as far as I'm concerned."

Contemplating my words, Lucis ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't quite understand why this woman would want Sarah to come to you about the book, if at all. Or why she'd assume Sarah would come back to her. What purpose would any of that serve?"

"I can't discern the true purpose yet. I have a few theories, one being Angel had hoped that book would bring Sarah and I closer. And _she_ wants to be close with _Sarah_."

Lucis scoffed. "Is that so wrong?" he asked me.

"If her intentions are pure then no."

"But you don't think hers are."

"No. I do not."

I watched Lucis sigh. He was becoming tired of this conversation apparently. "You're paranoid, Jareth," he said. "You're using words like propaganda, suggesting someone has, or is, trying to…"

"I'm not paranoid, damnit!" I exclaimed, cutting him off. "You don't see anything _wrong_ with this situation?"

Lucis drew his head back, never taking his eyes off of me. "Look, Jareth. I understand that being king of this region automatically makes you distrust every living thing around you. But we're living in a time of peace. I'm not so foolish to think nothing could happen in the future, and I appreciate you wanting to be one step ahead. But…you don't have much to go off of right now, and you're driving yourself mad over this… _book_ and the notion that it has evil intentions. It's a book, Jareth. If you're that worried, why don't you and Sarah go to the source, like I told you last time? Hmm? Just to get a feel of this woman you seemingly distrust."

I mumbled to myself about meeting some psychic who claims to hold some form of power. Just the idea of that profession made me laugh inwardly. But maybe Lucis was right, perhaps I should give this woman a visit. What harm could it do?

"Fine," I said to suffice Lucis. "Just…do me a favor and keep this at the front of your mind. Please. This kingdom has gone through its fair share of bloodshed in the past and history has a tendency to repeat itself."

Lucis started picked at his food again, and grinned at me, holding his fork midair. "And we'll be ready for that when, and _if,_ it happens. No one wants to fuck with you, Jareth. Especially not through the means of a book."

I stood up from my chair, ready to retreat to my study to go over some plans for the outer parts of the city. I was irritated that Lucis wasn't taking this seriously.

"You would hope," was the last thing I said to him.

* * *

 **SARAH**

"Bye, girls!" I yelled to Stephanie and Ibeeth as I walked out of the office.

I smiled to myself as I waited for the elevator to come and closed my eyes, so happy that it was Friday. I'd have Jareth all to myself for the weekend, and I couldn't wait to jump his bones later when we got to my apartment. Why would I ever give up sex with him again? My pleasant thoughts were interrupted when I suddenly heard a cough come from right next to me. Jumping a little when I heard the fake cough leave his throat, I rolled my eyes at his presence. Brandon, my coworker who had relentlessly hit on me a few weeks ago, was standing by my side.

"Hey, Sarah," he said.

"Hi, Brandon," I mumbled, looking up to see which floor the elevator was on.

"How are you doing?" he asked me. "You sure look pretty today."

Still not making eye contact with him, I replied, "Thanks. And I'm good."

"That's good. Got any plans for the weekend?" he inquired.

This time, I did turn to him. Sure he was cute, and resembled Chris Pratt in a way, but he was so annoying. "Yeah, actually. I plan on spending the weekend with my _boyfriend,_ Jareth." Maybe that would get him to shut up.

The elevator finally arrived, and I wasted no time in stepping inside, hitting the Ground button. Brandon of course, came in as well, and scrunched his eyebrows in confusion at my comment.

"You have a boyfriend?" he asked. "I thought you just broke up with him."

"I did, but I'm seeing someone else," I stated. _God, gossip spreads like wild fire at work._

"That was fast," Brandon said. "A few weeks ago you wouldn't even give me the time or day, now you're with someone else? Shit."

I scoffed at his underlying conceitedness. "That's probably because I'm not interested in you, Brandon."

"And why is that?" he asked in a defensive tone, placing his elbow on the elevator wall and facing me. "I think you and I would have fun together. You don't know what you're missing out on."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "I know you've slept with half the girls in our office. And I know that that gives you the sense of being Casanova…but I'm pretty sure _he_ knew what he was doing."

The elevator reached ground level and I walked out, but not before turning around to face Brandon one last time.

"I'm also pretty sure he didn't need to compensate for anything. But what do I know? It isn't like the girls in the office talk about your penis, or lack thereof, or anything. Have a good evening, Brandon."

I walked away, laughing to myself. _God, he was such an idiot._ When I reached the door that led outside, I saw Jareth patiently waiting for me. It was 5:05 PM and he was right on time. I couldn't help but beam at the sight of him, even if he was wearing his 'human' attire. He looked sexy no matter what.

"Hello, Precious," he said when I finally reached him.

"Hello, yourself." I put my arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. "Good day?" I asked.

Jareth turned his cheek and kissed my right forearm that still hung around his neck. "Mostly. How was your day?"

"Oh, you know. Same old. I had to tell my coworker to bug off just now."

Turning his head a little to the left, he nodded and asked, "It wouldn't happen to be _that_ coworker, would it?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, and turned to look in the direction that Jareth had mentioned. Brandon was walking out of the building and stopped to awkwardly stare at Jareth and I, then quickly went the other direction.

Laughing as I looked back to Jareth, I said, "Yep. That would be him."

"Did you see the poor man's face? You must have broken his heart. So ruthless," he said, nibbling my earlobe.

I bit my lip and felt the arousal taking hold of me. "Take me home," I ordered Jareth.

Instead of doing just that, Jareth pulled away from me, causing me to pout. "No?" I asked.

"Actually I had something else in mind," he told me. "What do you say we go grab a bite to eat and then stop by your friends place?"

Tilting my head, I asked, "Which friend?"

"Your friend, Angel. I've been thinking, and it seems only fair that I thank her for leading you to me. She is partly the reason we are here together. I'm indebted to her."

I really wasn't in the mood to go anywhere but home right now, but I _did_ want to ask Angel about those missing pages anyway. It had been a few weeks since I thought about it, and now that I was already out and Jareth was with me, maybe it would be a good time to go.

"Okay, sure," I said. "But my feet are killing me, so can you poof us there?"

Jareth rolled his eyes and sighed at my question, making me laugh. "For the last time," he started to say.

"I know, I know. You hate being called a poof fairy."

* * *

Jareth and I arrived about a block or two away from Angel's psychic shop and walked the short distance to the actual store. It felt so normal holding his hand in public and talking about our day to each other like a normal couple would do. It was moments like these where I forgot he was from a completely different world, but I was quickly reminded when I felt the tingly sensation emanate from his bare fingertips. He had told me before that it was his nerves kicking in from being Above that did that to him. It was weird knowing Jareth got nervous ever, but I was grateful I had seen that side to him numerous times. He really was a big old softie.

We finally reached the psychic shop about ten minutes later, and I walked in as Jareth held the door open for me. The place looked the same as the last time I had seen it, and I saw Phoebe, the store cat, walking our way.

"Ugh, there's that cat again," I said out loud, snarling my lips. "I hate cats."

I heard Jareth laugh next to me and saw him shaking his head. "I remember," he stated. "Where's your friend?"

I pursed my lips, looking around for Angel. "I don't know. Maybe she's near the back. Stay here," I told Jareth.

Walking towards the back of the store, I leaned my body to the left to see if I could catch a glimpse of Angel without actually having to access areas I wasn't allowed to be in without her permission. I didn't want to invade her privacy.

"Angel?" I said. "Are you back there?"

"Sarah?" I heard a voice say from around the corner. That's when I saw Angel came out and looking totally flushed. "Oh, Sarah, it's you," she said in a relieved tone.

"Yeah, it's me…" I replied hesitantly. She seemed so on edge. "Are you okay?"

Angel dusted her skirt off and tried composing herself. "Yes, yes, yes. I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm good…" I started to say. "I just uh, I came by for a few reasons. I wanted to ask you about that book and then-"

Before I could add that Jareth was here with me, Angel interrupted and said, "Oh? And what questions did you have about the book?"

"There were missing pages, did you know that?"

Angel smiled and suddenly grabbed my hand, a little rougher than necessary, and started guiding us back to the front of the store.

"Oh, fiddlesticks!" she then yelled ahead of me. "I can't believe I forgot to give you those."

Trailing behind her, trying to keep up as she practically tugged on my arm, I excitedly said, "So you do have them? The missing pages?"

"Did you come alone?" she suddenly asked, stopping to face me.

 _What kind of question is that?_ "Um, no, I…"

"She came with me," I then heard Jareth say.

I looked around Angel to see Jareth walking towards us, and then cringed as I felt Angel's grip tighten on my hand. She hadn't turned around yet to look at Jareth, but when I looked at her, she seemed frozen in place and her grip got even tighter by the second. Jareth must have seen how uncomfortable I was because he then asked, "Could you please release Sarah's hand?"

Angel did as Jareth requested, without looking at him still. I grabbed my hand with the other, massaging it. Why was Angel being so weird?

"Angel? This is Jareth…you know, _Jareth,"_ I tried saying in a playful voice. "He wanted to meet you."

She tightened her lips and finally turned to look at him, as he now stood right next to us. I watched her look him up and down and I raised one eyebrow, thinking how totally unimpressed she seemed by his presence and even a little…nervous?

"How do you do?" Jareth asked her calmly and extended a hand. "My name is Jareth."

Angel took a step back away from us, and placed both her hands on her chest. "It's…it's really you," she said wide eyed.

"Weird, right?" I said, chuckling. "I know this is crazy. But he wanted to meet you to say thanks."

She looked from Jareth to me. "Th-thanks? For what?"

Jareth took a step towards Angel, who then took another step back and gasped.

"I wanted to say thank you for believing in Sarah about everything," he told her. "Without you, I'm afraid she would have felt…lost, and more overwhelmed about everything. You helped guide her to me, and I am forever grateful. She's lucky to have a friend like you."

Blushing and waving her hands a little in front of her chest, Angel replied, "You don't need to thank me, really. I was just doing my job."

"Nonsense," Jareth said a little dramatically. He took yet another large step towards Angel, who only had a glass case behind her now. "You believed in the unbelievable and even gave Sarah that book to help fill her in on some things. That was so very kind of you. Even if it didn't even have all the information, let alone correct information, surely."

I watched Angel gulped, and the scene was making me a feel a little bad for her. Sure she believed me, but she probably didn't think she'd _actually_ meet the Fae from my dreams and she most likely thought this was weird too, and Jareth was seemingly terrifying her. Plus he was being rude with his sudden intrusion about the damn book. _I_ should have been the one talking to her about it.

"Jareth, can you give her some room?" I suddenly said in a somewhat harsh voice, lightly pushing him away from her. He did as I asked, but he still looked at Angel with uncertainty.

"What's wrong with you?" I whispered to him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, finally looked to me instead.

I folded my arms. "You're kind of being a jerk. You sound totally fake and accusatory, and you're encroaching on her personal space." I turned to glance back at Angel, who stared at us with a petrified look on her face.

"Angel, are you alright?" I asked her, placing my hand on her forearm.

She closed her eyes briefly and I felt she was shaking. Jesus, what the hell was wrong with her? For someone who supposedly believed in impossible situations and was aware of the Underground and its inhabitants, she sure was acting strange.

"I'm suddenly not feeling very well," she finally said.

I nodded my head, taking the hint. "Okay, well… I'll come back soon. Alone. Then we can talk and you can show me those missing pages then. Okay?"

Angel kept her eyes closed, and just nodded at me. I furrowed my brows, turning to Jareth, who just shrugged at her odd behavior. I gave her a gentle hug before taking Jareth's hand again and led him out of the store with me.

* * *

"Well, that was super weird," I stated once we got outside, peering at Jareth from the corner of my eye.

"Indeed," was all Jareth said as he looked straight ahead.

I stopped walking and shrugged my hand out of his. "That's all you have to say? What the hell was your problem anyway? She was acting odd, but so were you. I thought you wanted to go there to say thank you."

Jareth turned around and furrowed his brows at me. "I did thank her. Did I not?"

I let out a scoff. "I'm such an idiot. I should have known better than to think you wanted to go in there with the sole intention of saying thank you. No, you wanted to interrogate her about that book and why she gave it to me. Admit it."

"I will admit no such thing," he said. "I wanted to thank her, I did thank her, and I figured I should thank her even more for giving you a poor excuse of a gift."

"Bullshit," I retorted. "You were all weirded out about it when I first told you she had given it to me. You wanted to see how she'd act towards you." I crossed my arms. "Did you find what you were looking for?" I asked sarcastically.

"Actually, yes," Jareth replied and then took my hand again.

He sifted us back to my apartment the moment he took my hand, and changed back into his normal look before having a seat on my couch.

I stared at him, mouth agape. "Wait, what? What do you mean?"

"You shouldn't trust her, Sarah."

"Excuse me? Why not? She's harmless. You saw how terrified of you she was, she probably really didn't believe me about everything and then saw you and panicked."

Jareth looked to the ceiling and sighed, before staring right into my eyes. "Sarah- if there's anything I've learned in my long life, it's how to assess certain situations. I didn't get the full answer that I was hoping for, but that's where I'll leave you to do the dirty work."

"Dirty work?" I repeated.

He stood up to walk to me. "Yes. You need to go back there on your own like you said and ask to see those pages."

"Why is this so important to you?" I needed to know. He was starting to freak me out and I felt I was missing the bigger picture here.

Jareth took my hands and kissed my knuckles tenderly. "I need to know for certain what her intentions are concerning you."

"And how is me looking at those pages going to prove anything?"

"Leave that to me. I'll explain everything to you after you go back there. Do you trust me?"

I looked into Jareth's blue eyes and brushed his long hair away from his face. "You know I do."

He kissed my forehead and took me into his arms. "I'd never let anything bad happen to you, Sarah."

"I know," I said. "Look, this is a lot of heavy stuff for one night. I thought we were supposed to grab a bite to eat," I added.

"You're cranky when you wake up, and you're cranky when you're hungry. Is there anything else I should know about you?" Jareth asked teasingly.

I pursed my lips, trying to come up with something interesting about myself. "I read fan fiction as a pass time."

"What on earth is that?" he asked.

I had to laugh at his facial expression; he looked so confused. "Don't worry about it. You still owe _me_ a fun fact. Remember?"

"How could I forget?" he said sardonically. "Let's see…"

I waited as Jareth pondered about something he could enlighten me on about himself, but it seemed he was having a hard time.

"Ah. Okay," he finally said. "When I was a lad, my family had taken me and Lucis to the North for a council meeting. While my grandfather and father attended the meeting, Lucis and I were in awe of the snow and glaciers. We managed to get away from my mother, who was probably off gossiping with Orion's mother. He's the current king of the north you see. We found a frozen pond, and Lucis dared me to stick my tongue to the ice beneath us, so I did."

"And?" I inquired. I couldn't wait to hear this.

"And, apparently…your tongue sticks to the ice when you do this. I had no idea, but Lucis did. I couldn't find a way to break away from the frozen ice, and we were so young that we weren't able to tap in our magic just yet, so Lucis had to interrupt the council meeting and ask for help. Naturally, we were in a lot of trouble. Father had to leave the meeting, embarrassed, and scolded us for days. I've hated the North ever since."

I burst out laughing, imagining Jareth as a kid being stuck to ice. All I could think about was Dumb and Dumber and A Christmas Story. Who knew that could actually happen? He stared at me, trying to look serious, but then broke down too. We were both laughing hard now, and his laugh only intensified mine.

"Yeah licking ice is a big no-no," I said, wiping a tear away from my face.

"Apparently so."

"Well, at least you learned your lesson."

"I've learned many things about ice," he said.

Tilting my head, I asked, "Like what?"

"Well, I suppose I've learned that it's cold…it can hurt…I don't particularly like it…but the thing I've mainly learned about ice is that…it's possible for it to melt. It just takes the right conditions to do so."

I narrowed my eyes, and smiled at him. "Is that so?"

"Yes. Like you for instance…you just happened to be the right amount of what I needed in order for my own icy heart to melt."

My smile broadened, and even though his line was super cheesy and he knew it, I thought it was sweet.

"How's that for romanticism?" he asked, pushing my hair behind my ear, only to cup my cheek and kiss me.

I swooned at his kiss and actions. For saying romance wasn't in his repertoire, I'd say he was pretty dang good at it in his own way. Who knew Jareth, the scary and intimidating Goblin King, could be so corny? And I loved it.

Almost as much as I was falling in love with him.

* * *

 **AN: oooh, what to make of all of that? Please review! Lurkers that means you ;) or anyone who follows this story but hasn't yet reviewed, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts/comments/suggestions. Thanks, guys!**


	17. Chapter 17

Yayyy! I've reached over 100 followers on this story! I'm so happy about that because this was literally my first Fan Fiction story ever and I wasn't sure at all how it would pan out with followers. So thank you all so much who have followed, favorited, and commented on this. I appreciate you!

* * *

 **SARAH**

Jareth found me in the shower the next morning after I had gone for a run outside. He had mumbled and complained when I woke up, for he wanted me all to himself, but I was persistent on running for an hour. I laughed and told him I wasn't about to change all my routines for him, and apparently that got him to stop whining.

The moment I got into the shower once I was back, he strode into the master bath gloriously nude, walking with that sleek, confident grace I'd admired from the beginning. Watching the flexing of his muscles as he moved, I didn't even pretend not to stare at the magnificent package between his legs. And despite the heat of the water, my nipples beaded tight and goose bumps raced across my skin. His knowing smile as he joined me told me he knew exactly what kind of effect he had on me.

I retaliated by running soapy hands all over his godlike body, then sat on the bench the shower came with and sucked him off with such enthusiasm he had to support himself with both palms pressed flat against the tile. He stopped me before he was able to finish in my mouth, and instead pressed me against the tile and had his way with me from behind. Talk about easy like Sunday morning. Except it was Saturday, but hey- who really cares about semantics.

Once we were satiated, we got dressed, drank coffee and ate breakfast together and I was vaguely surprised by how much of a routine the both of us were settling into so quickly. I should have been worried that things were moving rapidly between us, but I tossed the thought aside; I loved having him with me. As I was admiring him from across the table sipping my coffee, he was peering into one of his crystals, making sure his 'goblins' weren't wrecking the place. _I can't believe he lives with goblins…_

"Keep looking at me like that," he warned, turning away from his crystal and leaning casually towards me on the table. "See what happens."

"What? I can't admire you from afar?" I questioned back, fluttering my eyes.

"You can, I don't blame you of course. But there will be… _consequences_ ," he teased.

I laughed at not only his conceitedness, but the other part of his comment as well. "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"More like a promise," he answered, wriggling his eyebrows.

"What am I? Your sex slave?"

"What a provocative suggestion. Let's discuss." He tossed his crystal into the air, and it vanished.

"You fiend," I muttered, rising from my chair to rinse out my mug in the sink. "So… I think I'm going to go back and visit Angel today."

He finished his coffee and I held out my hand for his mug, but he bypassed me and rinsed it out himself. I raised my eyebrows at this domesticated and mortal task, wondering how this fantasy came to life. He was so cute when he acted human and I loved that he was trying.

He faced me. "I wasn't expecting you to do that so soon. Any particular reason why you want to do it today? I thought we might spend the day together."

"I mean, we can, but I figured the sooner the better and…I don't want you to burn out on me, Jareth." He was a male used to being alone, a male who hadn't had a meaningful relationship in a long time, if ever. How long before he got tired of me? Sure we weren't together every waking minute, but it was enough to the point where I didn't want him to get sick of being around me so soon. The thought scared me.

"That's a ridiculous thing to say." His features hardened. "I just got you back in my life. Why would you think I would get ' _burnt out_ ' on you?"

"I don't know…you're a king from a faraway land and it wouldn't surprise me if you needed space?"

"Sarah…you don't get to decide I can't do this. I thought we had an understanding. Plus, I've had enough space for the last Gods know how many years. I love being with you."

I kicked myself for offending him. He really was trying and he had been amazing; I needed to make sure he got credit for that, not discouragement. "I know you do. I just don't want to crowd you so soon. Plus, we still need to-"

"Sarah." He sighed, the hard tension leaving him with that frustrated exhalation. "You're not crowding me. You have to keep trusting me. I'm trusting you. If we didn't, we wouldn't we be here now."

I nodded, swallowing hard. "Okay. You're right. Should I not see Angel today then?"

"If you absolutely want to then you should. But don't do it because you think I want to be away from you. That is absurd."

My face heated and I shifted on my feet. "I'm sorry. I can always see her another day."

Jareth chuckled. "Precious, just go see her. It seems like you really want to. I'll be here when you get back. I thought I saw a chicken or two stuck in a cannon anyway, so maybe I should check on the castle briefly."

"What exactly _does_ your castle look like?" I asked, as he took me into his arms.

"Ah, ever so curious." He kissed me on my forehead. "You'll see someday. And then wished you hadn't. Call on me when you need me. I will see you shortly."

He started to pull away from me, smiling as he did so. He said one last thing to me before he left: "I know you hate cats, but I thought you should know that I love them, in case you couldn't tell. I once had a wished away cat named Sampson, and I adored him."

He winked at me before he disappeared. Showoff. I smiled at the fact that he had just told me something random about himself without me even asking. Sighing in contentment, I then went to throw on some yoga pants and a tank top, taking advantage of the weather outside while I still could. It was September now, and the weather would grow colder before I knew it.

After putting some running shoes on, I grabbed my purse and set out to see Angel, hoping to apologize for last night and finally get some answers about those pages.

* * *

 **JARETH**

"What's the secret to being so happy?" Lucis drawled, as he strolled into my study.

As soon as he walked in, I felt the smile I wore leave my face. How long it had been sitting there as my expression, I didn't know but Lucis clearly had enough time to observe it. He walked over to where I had been sitting for the past hour, carrying yet another stack of papers in his arms. He placed them on the table in my direct line of sight, so I wouldn't forget that they were there.

I sat back, absently noting that his emerald-hued shirt matched the jeweled decanters decorating my bar. "The right woman," I said.

He stood up straight and smirked at me. "Go ahead, Jareth. Rub it in."

"I prefer to gloat quietly. What are those you brought for me?"

He grinned in a way that told me he loved his job, although I never doubted it. Lucis was loyal and while he didn't take things too serious all the time, he really was a fantastic advisor.

"The trade deal with the North is coming together nicely. I'm surprised Orion is complying at all." Adjusting his tailored breeches, he settled into one of the two chairs facing my desk. His style was less flashy than my own, but couldn't be faulted. "We've ironed out the bigger points. Still finessing some clauses, but we should be ready to proceed before the festival."

"Good. I never really enjoy conducting business with the North as you know, but as _you_ said, we're in _peaceful_ times, and so it must stay that way I suppose."

"Indeed." Casually, Lucis brushed his blonde hair out of his face and asked, "So, how are things with Sarah? You're spending a lot of time with her, I see."

"And for that I am grateful. She is amazing in every aspect. Sometimes I wonder if I'm dreaming that she's back in my life at all. It all seems too good to be true."

Lucis laughed. "I can assure you this is all real, my friend. I must tell you, I expected you to settle down at _some_ point, but I never thought it would be with her."

"Neither did I." Thought made me sad and happy all at once. I never expected to share my life with any living soul to be honest, let alone Sarah. Of course I had hoped and wished, but that all changed after she left here with no memories. And then the miraculous happened. It still astounded me. "And don't get too excited- Sarah and I are still very much getting to know each other," I added.

Standing, I walked to one of the windows in my study, and took in the splendor of my land and the Labyrinth. I smiled to myself, remembering when Sarah had ran it all those years ago. She was so defiant and brave. I really must thank that damn spirit for giving me some hint as to our situation. I'd never get over the fact that fate had brought us together again.

"Whatever you say. I remember the days when you would be with two, three, four Fae at once," Lucis said behind me. "Now you're in love, with a human no less. It is mind blowing how much can change in a month or two."

I surveyed the Goblin Kingdom, taking a rare moment to appreciate the view my study afforded me by the height and position of the room. In love? Was I in love? And Lucis could tell? "Yes, well. Like I said, it took the right woman to turn my world upside down."

"It's one thing to claw your way into another kingdom and create trade deals, another to reboot your life overnight." He chuckled. "But I'm happy for you. I know these last ten years have been…difficult to say the least."

Turning to face Lucis, I smiled and said, "I appreciate that. No need to dwell on the past though. Sarah is in my life, and I intend to keep it that way. She revitalized me, made me anticipate living in a way I never wanted to before."

I had built my empire with the past of my grandfather and uncle in mind. Now, thanks to Sarah, I would continue to build it for our future; the future I hoped that someday she would come to want and share with me. I had no expectations right now as I promised her, but there was a piece of me that wanted her by my side as queen _someday._

"I'm assuming you brought up the book to her again?" he asked.

I hesitated before answering. "Yes, actually. We visited her little friend last night."

"And?" Lucis inquired, raising his brows.

"She practically had a nervous breakdown when she saw me. I didn't tell Sarah this, but I felt…something strange in the air at her shop. I simply told Sarah she shouldn't trust her. Some is amiss with that… _woman._ "

"Best not let Sarah go near her again then, if that's how you feel I suppose."

"Sarah is either on her way to her now, or she's currently with her."

Lucis stared at me, giving me a look that suggested, _well that's surprising, seeing as you don't trust the woman._ "You're letting Sarah go alone to see some woman you think is off and shouldn't be trusted? Are you trying to put Sarah in danger?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I would never do such a thing," I said. "If Angel is out to hurt Sarah or myself, she won't do it today. Not after her epic performance last night. Sarah will be fine."

"Why put her in that position though? What purpose does it serve to even have Sarah go back there?"

I smirked at Lucis, my eyes narrowing. "We'll just have to find out, won't we?"

* * *

 **SARAH**

"Angel?" I said out loud to the seemingly empty store.

It took me about thirty minutes to walk here, my stop at Starbucks taking longer than it should have. I wanted to bring Angel some tea, hoping that would be an ice breaker between the two of us. I had walked around the store for a few minutes, but I didn't see her anywhere. In fact, the store was seemingly empty, save for Phoebe, the store cat who was laying down on the front glass-counter. Creepy cat.

"Angel?" I said again, my eyes leaving Phoebe. Where the hell was she?

"Can I help you?" a sudden voice asked me.

I gasped when I heard the voice, accidentally dropping the coffee holder when I turned around, startled.

"Shit!" I yelled, bending over to pick up what I could of the mess. "I'm so sorry about that." Why was I scared so easy!

I peered up to the person who had begun helping me with the ice that spilled out onto the carpet. I had never seen this individual here before; he was a young guy, probably around my age or so, and had black, spiky hair with gauges in his ears. He wore a Metallica t-shirt and tight skinny jeans, and I saw that his left arm was covered in tattoos. He also wore a strange necklace around his neck, which had some type of triangular symbol.

"That's okay, my bad for scaring you," he said, both of us standing up. "I'm Mike."

"No problem. I'm Sarah," I replied. "This place is known for jumping guests I guess. Angel did the same thing to me the very first time I came in."

"Yeah well, Angel does that to most people anywhere. She's as quiet as a mouse."

I chuckled, and set the now empty drinks on the glass counter where Phoebe was laying. I snarled my lip when I got close to her.

"You were looking for Angel?" he asked me.

Smoothing my top out and trying to compose myself, I said, "Yeah, um, is she here?"

"Nah, she isn't coming in today," this Mike guy replied, leaning against the counter. "Not sure when she'll be back, actually. She asked me to hold the fort down here for a few days."

Well wasn't that just my luck. "Darn," I mumbled.

"Was there anything I could help you with?" he politely asked.

"Are you new or something?" I then retorted. "I haven't seen you here before."

He narrowed his eyes at me, as though I had just insulted him. "No, I'm not new. I'm just not usually here on the weekends."

"Oh, I've come in on a Monday before and last evening, which was Friday. Didn't see you." Why did I sound so accusatory? Jareth was spreading his paranoia onto me, I knew it. This poor guy probably didn't understand why I was being so snappy or why it mattered what days he was here.

"Tuesdays through Thursdays are when I work," he said point blank.

How convenient. "Oh," I answered back. "Interesting."

I looked around the store, trying to avoid the awkward tension that stood between Mike and I. Something felt…off. I couldn't place my finger on it, or why that was, but this guy gave me the major creeps. I looked back to him hesitantly, and he was just staring at me, with a smile on his face.

"I know who you are," he suddenly said. "Angel's told me a lot about you."

I folded my arms, and raised my eyebrows. "Oh? Like what?"

Just then the phone started ringing, making Phoebe jump off the counter. Mike still stared at me intensely as the phone rang, and I fidgeted where I stood, his gaze unnerving me. Ever so slowly did he walk away, his eyes never leaving my face, until he answered the phone.

"Psychic Eye, how can I help you?" he asked the person calling.

Okay, that was officially my cue to go. I didn't want to be here any longer, no matter how much I wanted to know what Angel had said about me. I got a bad feeling, and if there's anything I've learned from Angel, it's to trust your gut instinct. With that, I waved awkwardly at Mike and left.

When I stepped out of the store, I took a deep breath, my heart racing. I didn't know why I was so anxious, but that guy seriously freaked me out. And where was Angel? We were just here last night. Did Jareth scare her that bad? I'd hate to think he did, but the guy can be intimidating, even in his human form. _Ugh._

As I began to walk home, my thoughts about what just happened were paused when I heard my cell phone ringing. Alexa was calling me.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hiiiii!" she responded. "Whatcha doing?"

"Oh, you know...just running errands," I said, looking around my current environment. "What's up?"

"Not much, I have today off so I'm just hanging out. I was actually calling to see if you and um... _Jareth..._ would be interested in coming out with Patrick and I soon?"

 _Oh great._ How was I going to explain this one to Jareth? I knew Alexa was wanting to do this eventually, but the thought worried me now. Jareth barely felt comfortable taking me out on dates, how would he handle a _double-date?_

"Uh, yeah, sure, that sounds fun," I told her anyway. "What did you have in mind? And when?"

"Well that new Sky Lounge place is opening next week and one of the doctor's at the hospital knows the owner, so he said he could get me and like, four friends on the guest list. It has live music and all that fun stuff. So maybe like...next Friday night we could all go on opening night?"

 _Lovely._ "Jeeze, look at you miss fancy pants. Okay let me talk to Jareth to confirm and I'll get back to you. Text you later?"

"Yeah, let me know soon! How is...Jareth, anyway?"

I smiled and chuckled, thinking how funny it was that she was still uncomfortable with the thought of him, but she would try to get to know him for my sake. "He's good. Really good, actually. How's Patrick?"

"He's good," she told me. "He's here right now, he says hi."

"Tell him I say hi back. Alright cool, yeah I'll let you know about next Friday soon. I'm hopping in a cab, so I'll text you later."

"Okay, sounds good. Love you!"

"Love you too."

I wasn't hopping in a cab, but I needed to figure out a way to bring this, on top of the Angel situation, up to Jareth. Scandals, double dates, upcoming balls...could anything just be relaxing?

I sighed and continued walking home to see Jareth.

* * *

 **JARETH**

"How did it go?" I asked Sarah, the moment I sifted into her apartment.

She had called for me several minutes ago and was now sitting on her couch, her legs fidgety and shaking as though she were anxious about something. Sarah looked up to me when I appeared, and moved to the left a little bit to allow me room to sit next to her. I noticed that she had also changed into some tight, spandex pants and a body-hugging tank top since I last saw her; I loved seeing her in this type of outfit- it made her toned body look exquisite.

"She wasn't there," Sarah replied, watching me as I sat down.

"How very shocking," I said as I brought my mouth into the crux of Sarah's neck. I wasn't particularly interested in hearing about Angel right now; it didn't surprise me at all that she wasn't there today. In fact, it just further verified my apprehensions about her. Sarah pushed me away, my visible pout making her smile a little.

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you," she told me. "You were the one who was taking this super serious last night."

I huffed, and sank back into the couch to relax. She was right, I suppose. "Oh, alright. So she wasn't there. That only further proves my point that she's up to something. What that is, I still don't know."

I felt Sarah's hand rest on my forearm, and I turned my head to look at her. I could see that she was worried, causing me to furrow my eyebrows. "What is it?" I asked her.

"I just...I went into that store today and it felt…different. I can't explain it, but there was a guy there today who I've never seen before, and he gave me the total creeps. So now I can't help but think something is wrong too."

I moved my position so that I was facing Sarah now. One of my legs dangled off the couch, and the other was Indian style. So she felt the strangeness too. Except it wasn't emanating from Angel, but someone else? Hmm…

"Does our equality thing mean we have a shared power where I can sense danger like you?" she asked chuckling.

I grinned at her comment, relishing in the fact that this woman was truly my equal. Not just by my own doing, but because she had also proved herself. "I honestly don't know, I haven't thought about that. I'm not sure how far that equality power extends between us, other than I simply cannot make you do something you truly do not want to do. But as far as other powers go…I think you're just good at listening to your intuition, like I am. If something is telling you that that man was off, he probably was."

"Well, what does all of this mean then?" she wanted to know. "You get a weird feeling about Angel, and that guy Mike did not seem normal. I just don't see how any of it really matters, despite the weirdness lingering."

Sighing, I took Sarah into my arms, where she leaned her head against my shoulder, wrapping her arms around me. "I'm still not sure what any of this means, precious. Maybe it really doesn't mean anything. But things have a way of unfolding on their own volition, so we'll have to be patient for a bit to see if anything does happen. Until then…you will be safe with me. I swear it."

 _Because I love you,_ I thought. The words didn't leave my mouth, but they were on the tip of my tongue. Of course I loved Sarah, thinking back to my thoughts from earlier. How could I not? I didn't care that it had been but a little over a month since everything happened between us; I knew she would be the one years ago. If this Angel woman really does have any plans on stopping anything between Sarah and I though…she would regret it.

"Oh, by the way," Sarah suddenly said, pulling away from me. "I have to ask you something."

"Yes?" I inquired.

Sarah pursed her lips, as though she were hesitant to ask me. What could it possibly be? She took a deep breath before talking again.

"Alexa wants us to go out on a double date with her and her friend boy next week. I told her it sounded fun, but I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it. I mean, I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation or anything, but, maybe we could go?"

 _A double date?_ I barely knew how a one-on-one date went, but a double date? Good Lords. As much as the idea of such a situation worried me, I knew this was going to happen someday with Sarah's friends and family. If we were to remain together that is. Plus, she was coming to my ball after all, it was the least I could do.

Sighing, I replied, "We can go. It has to happen sooner or later, doesn't it?"

Her eyes lit up. "Really? You want to go? Because we seriously don't have to."

"Nonsense. You can't hide me forever," I joked.

"Wouldn't that be nice?" she said. "Thank you," she added, leaning into me once again. "It will be fun, I promise."

I kissed the top of her head, and all I could think was, _I sincerely hope so._

* * *

 **SARAH**

 _I made my way through the dark and dank tunnel. My shoes were a little wet, and I looked down to see I was wearing jeans, cheap, leather loafers of some kind, and a white tunic sported with a vest. Talk about fashionista…_

 _Peering back up, I looked ahead of me and continued walking down the tunnel. What was I looking for? I realized I was completely alone, and it was eerily quiet. Too quiet. The ground was wet, but I didn't hear the plops of water or anything. Then, out of nowhere, I began to hear deep voices from around me._

 _"_ _Don't go on."_

 _"_ _Go back while you still can."_

 _"_ _This is not…the way!"_

 _"_ _Take heed and go no further."_

 _"_ _Beware…beware…"_

 _"_ _Soon, it will be too late…"_

 _I was panicking when I heard all the warnings, and spun around several times, but I still didn't see anything or anyone. My nostrils flared as I breathed in and out heavily, wanting to take the advice of all the voices, but there was nowhere for me to go except straight ahead. I began jogging now, hoping the tunnel would lead me to some kind of opening or…something!_

 _I stopped when I came to a complete dead end._

 _"_ _Oh, no," I said to myself, putting my head on my forehead._

 _"_ _Tell me, Sarah…how are you enjoying my Labyrinth?"_

 _I turned to the voice that came behind me and saw…Jareth? What was he doing here? The last time I saw him he was…he was lying in bed next to me. Was I…was this a dream? He was wearing his usual type of get up; tight, black breeches, boots, his gloves, but he was wearing a leather red jacket of some sorts, and he looked…dark and…dangerously sexy._

 _"_ _Jareth?" I asked, gulping._

 _He walked over to me until he was unnervingly close, putting his forearm above my head, leaning in towards me._

 _"_ _Sarah." He smirked at me, tilting his head._

 _"_ _What's going on?" I asked him._

 _"_ _I would think it's obvious," he replied, chuckling. He then leaned in even more and inhaled, his eyes closed, as though relishing in the scent that he took in._

 _When he pulled away, I saw the dark expression in his eyes; he looked feral and uncontrolled. He hadn't looked this way since the night I first said his name…I wasn't sure how I felt about that._

 _"_ _I need to get out of here," I said to him, turning away._

 _He grabbed my arm roughly, causing me to look at him again._

 _"_ _And spoil the fun?" he said. "You never answered my question you precious thing."_

 _I tightened my lips and narrowed my eyes at Jareth who wasn't the Jareth I had come to know. This Jareth seemed so aggressive, conniving, and condescending. I'd show him. I tugged my arm out of his grasp and said, "It's a piece of cake."_

 _I had no clue where that came from, other than it just sounded like the right thing to say that would piss him off. And piss him off I did._

 _"_ _Really?" he said, in a surprised tone._

 _He backed away from me completely and created one of his crystals. "Then let's see how you deal with this, little slice."_

 _Before I knew what was happening, some monstrous machine was coming my way. My eyes widened at the terrifying contraption, with metal spikes being directed at me. It was moving at an alarming pace, and so I ran. I had no idea where I was running to, but anywhere away from that…thing was good enough for me._

 _Until I hit another dead end that is. Fuck._

 _I could hear the machine getting closer and closer. I had nowhere to go once again, so I did the only thing I could do. I turned around to meet my fate._

 _Wake up, Sarah, wake up!_

 _It was no use. I braced myself for what was coming. The last thing I heard was my own scream._

* * *

"Sarah! Sarah, wake up!"

So I did. I woke up to hearing those words being yelled as well as being shaken lightly, by none other than Jareth. My eyes adjusted to the brightness of my room once they were opened, and I felt…wet. I immediately put my hand to my forehead, where I noticed I was incredibly hot and the sweat was literally dripping down my face.

"Sarah…" he said, worry taking over his own face.

I sprung up from the bed, ignoring his concern, and went straight to my bathroom, where I splashed cold water on my face. My eyes were closed as I breathed in and out, trying to calm myself down from the dream I had just had. I hated dying in dreams! And that one felt too realistic.

Jareth must have gotten up too, because I suddenly heard his voice next to me.

"Sarah…what happened? Are you okay?"

My eyes opened again slowly, and I dried my face off with a nearby towel. Turning towards him, I saw how scared he looked. I wasn't sure if it was because he was worried about me, or if my scared expression made him scared.

"I had a bad dream," I stated in an annoyed tone, and walked back to the bed.

"Yes, I can see that. Might I ask what about?" he asked, following me.

I sat down on my side of the queen sized bed, wrapping my arms around my knees. "I don't really know," I said. "I was in a tunnel, all alone, there was these ominous voices warning me about something, then you showed up, and sent something to kill me. And it did."

Jareth sat down next to me, and I could feel his eyes on me. But I wasn't ready to look him dead in the eyes yet. It was just a dream, I knew that, but I found myself really peeved with him for what he had to me in that dream. Even though it wasn't really him…or was it? I knew he could go into my dreams, but that didn't even seem like the Jareth I knew now.

His silence worried me. I finally turned to look at him, and he seemed…ashamed? What was that expression on his face?

"Jareth?" I said. "What is it?"

"Sarah, I…could you give me some more details about this dream of yours? Tell me as much as you can."

I sighed and began telling him all the small details like my outfit, his outfit, what we had said to each other and all that good stuff. When I finished, he looked down, frowning.

"Your memories are still trying to come through," he said. "Somewhere in your mind…you're thinking about them. Whether it's me saying certain things to trigger them or not, you clearly want them back. While that dream wasn't exactly how that scene played out all those years ago…"

He stopped, and I saw the tightening of his jaw.

"Wait…that actually happened?" I asked, widening my eyes. "You sent something to…to _kill_ me?" I shook my head haphazardly, not wanting to believe that.

"It wasn't going to kill you, I promise."

I got up from the bed, my eyes wide with shock. "Oh my god, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you do something like that!"

"Calm down," he said, still staying in his position on the bed. "It isn't what you think. It did no harm to you or Hoggle –"

I cut him off before he could finish. "Who the hell is this HOGGLE? Stop saying his name, I don't know who that is! Ugh!" I started pacing my room, all my worries about my relationship with Jareth were coming back to light. How had I forgotten how weird all of this was! I was so caught up in the idea of this guy and my enamored feelings towards him had blinded me. Damn, this dream had really shaken me up. Calm down, Sarah. Calm down.

His hand was suddenly on my shoulder, the feeling making me jump, and my automatic reaction was to pull away. "Don't touch me," I said. "God it's like…it's like I don't even know who you are. There's this whole other Jareth I met all those years ago. I mean, shit, you drugged me, made me hallucinate, tried making me forget about my _brother,_ and now I find out you almost killed me! What else is there Jareth? I've tried pretending none of that other stuff matters, but it does matter! Are you some kind of…sick, twisted, sociopath?"

 _So much for calming down._

"No!" he yelled. "No, Sarah, I'm not! You don't understand…you…" He shook his head, trying to come up with words to say. "You never appreciated what I did for you all those years ago, and it looks like you still don't. But how could you? You've refused to regain your memories and look back on what happened so you can reflect on your own behavior and actions. I'm not going to lie, I may have been cold at times when you ran the Labyrinth but as I told you before, I was only doing what _you_ wanted!"

He sat back on the edge of my bed, burrowing his head in his hands, looking utterly spent. Why did I suddenly feel bad? Fuck.

"You were good at painting me to be the villain then, and it seems that's what you want to do now, without even truly knowing what really happened. I can only tell you so much, Sarah. I'm sorry."

Well, shit. Maybe he was right. Maybe I did need my memories back to understand things between us more. I was still worried they'd make me feel overwhelmed though, and even more… I was worried I wouldn't be able to see past Jareth's antics during my stint in the Underground. Would I feel animosity towards him for certain things? Was there other things he did that I don't know about? Will those things upset me? Hurt me?

Damn.

There was only one way to find out. He was right.

I moved to stand in front of Jareth, and took his hands in my own. I needed to trust him, like he said yesterday morning. I also needed to trust myself, and my feelings for him. Despite my sudden confusion and anger, there was one thing that remained: I cared for him. Deeply. Irrevocably.

I took a deep breath and hoped I wouldn't regret this.

"I wish you would give me back my memories. Right now."

* * *

 **AN: Has anyone else ever had a dream about someone where they did something to piss you off in that dream and then you wake up legit mad at them? haha happens all the time to me. My poor boyfriend. So phew, okay. A few things going on in this chapter! Angel, Mike, the memories, oh my! Let me know what you guys think, eek!**


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry for the delay with this story! ENJOY!

* * *

 **SARAH**

Things happened very fast the moment I wished for my memories back. I hardly had time to react to anything other than the pulsating throb that suddenly occurred in my head right after those words left my mouth. I'd had migraines before, but this sure beat the hell out of any of those. The pain I felt reminded me of what someone would go through during a lobotomy, like somebody was inside my head with a stick, fucking around with my brain.

The discomfort caused me to immediately release Jareth's hands and kneel to the floor. I huddled over in agony as I held onto my head with both hands, eyes closed. The anxiety building up inside me was almost too much to bear, for the memories started flooding my mind faster than I thought possible. My heart pounded and I clutched my tank, now soaked with sweat. I didn't know what was worse; the feeling that my heart was going to explode out of my chest, or the feeling of someone beating my head in with a stick. Why was this so painful?

I couldn't answer my own question, for fear, anger, lust, curiosity, sadness…all these different emotions were sweeping through me instantaneously and I had no idea how to react to any of it. As the emotions engulfed my body, the world began to spin. Montages of everything that transpired in the Labyrinth and before that had started taking over my conscious; sounds and voices melded into one as the montages went by at a frenzied rate, and I couldn't take it. I felt lost and out of control.

I saw myself as a teenager, enamored with the little red book Jareth had made for me and how it sparked my imagination again. I watched myself recite the lines from it in the park, and I was reminded how much that book made me feel not so alone. I then saw and felt my anger towards Karen after she berated me the night everything happened; the resentment I felt towards her and Toby; my impulsive decision to wish him away; the first feelings of lust mixed with fright the moment Jareth appeared to me; the fear I experienced in the Labyrinth...but also happiness due to the friends I had made there. _Everything was making sense now…of course I didn't just wake up one morning wanting to make things right with my family again. It was because of the lesson I had learned that night..._

The images kept replaying over in my head and I just wanted it to stop! As I wished for the crazed sensation to end, the last scene of being with my newfound friends in my bedroom began to fade away, making the excitement in my head settle down a little bit. I was finally caught up. My heartbeat slowed down a bit and my breathing became calmer. I had no idea where Jareth was, if he was near me or not, for I still refused to lift up my head in fear I'd collapse or pass out. He wasn't kidding when he said regaining my memories would overwhelm me. That was probably the most unpleasant thing I had ever experienced in my life.

The worst seemed to have passed, but my eyes remained closed. A few minutes later, once I felt I could somewhat focus, I attempted to wade through my memories and concentrate on certain moments that took place between Jareth and I. I needed to get an idea of who he was then…of who _I_ was, and my feelings for him. I felt my eyebrows furrow as I reached out to my awakened thoughts.

 _Forget about the baby. I've brought you a gift. It's further than you think. You have 13 hours. How are you enjoying my Labyrinth? I wonder what your basis for comparison is. Let's see how you deal with this little slice. I'll be there for you, as the world falls down. Falling in love. I move the stars for no one. Your eyes can be so cruel. Look what I'm offering you- your dreams. Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave._

All the scenes between us played out in my mind at a rapid pace, but I wanted to slow it down, get accustomed to the idea that we'd met before. So I tried to concentrate on our first meeting. I remembered that I was absolutely petrified of this… _man,_ or whatever I thought he was at the time. I mean it isn't everyday a gorgeous yet terrifying being appears in your parents' bedroom, threatening you, all the while managing to be sexy. So you mix in a hint of desire with fear and you've got yourself one confused fifteen year old girl. I smiled a little to myself, thinking that I had never seen anyone quite like him. I didn't even know something like him could _exist._ There were his crystals...the goblins...a snake. _That jerk._

I then reminisced on his cocky attitude throughout our brief meetings, and how I always wanted to come across as mature and unafraid, hoping to challenge him. I'm sure he saw right through me though, especially when we spoke in the tunnel. That was the moment I had just dreamed about. I tapped into the memory a bit more, trying to discern how different my dream was from reality.

Jareth certainly wasn't as evil as he appeared in my dream, but he was intimidating nonetheless. Then there was me; god I was such a hot mess in that instance. Once again I had tried staying cool, but I so badly wanted Jareth to kiss me…he was going to kiss me, wasn't he? Why had I wanted that so badly? He was an ass and I was only fifteen! But he was so…alluring. Especially the way he put his forearm above me and subtly flirted with me. I think he had anyway...

I bit my lip as the throbbing discomfort coursed through my head again. I exhaled, not wanting to succumb to the pain. My memories then landed on a moment in the infamous forest, where I was accosted by the...fireys? I nudged that remembrance of those pink birds aside, trying to focus on _him_.

 _There was a peach. Dizziness. Falling. Faces. A ballroom._ The same ballroom I had dreamed about for the past seven years. I recall seeing him in the crowd, and how mesmerized I was by him. Everything about him. It was that moment where I realized how truly captivated by Jareth I really was. As I stared at him in awe, he disappeared among the masked figures and that's when the cat and mouse game began. When I finally found him, squashed in between those women, I recall being…jealous? Aroused? So many confusing things, and then his hands were on my waist. He sang to me. I felt comforted yet nervous. _Falling in love...  
_

Was that song an admission of...love? It couldn't have possibly been...

The throbbing was back. The next thing I knew, I was reliving our final encounter. Jareth appeared in all white. I felt brave and so sure of everything at that point. He on the other hand, never looked more unsure. I might have just been fifteen, but I knew he was hiding his worry under that dark and dangerous facade. His pretty promises did nothing for me. _Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want._ He looked so solemn...majestic...sad...and, desperate.

I didn't buy any of it. _You have no power over me._ The bubble burst. And he was gone. I was back home. Toby was safe. And I didn't remember a thing the next morning.

I scowled at the disappointing memory our final moment together, wishing both of us had gone about everything differently. Why didn't Jareth just tell me those words would be the downfall of everything?

 _Oh. Right._ He once said he didn't know the repercussions those words would have at the time he created them. I felt tears forming, despite my eyes being shut. There was so much I wanted to say and ask Jareth during that moment in the Escher room, but I needed Toby home safe. So I said the words without thinking. We both played our part. What's done is done. It's too late to go back and change what happened. We're here now and can only move forward.

I exhaled, readying myself to face Jareth. I didn't know what to quite to feel after all of this. Everything has changed and yet...nothing has changed. I was surprised to feel no indifference towards the male who was in my bedroom somewhere. Sure, he had been a total asshole on more than one occasion during those ten or thirteen hours, but he was right - I had wanted a villain in my life that I could lash out on. And he had done what I wanted. He took Toby and gave me the thrill of a lifetime. He taught me I shouldn't take things for granted. He allowed me to grow up and be selfless. How could I hate him for any of that? The fact of the matter is...I couldn't. I didn't even _want_ to hate him.

Because... _I love him._ I knew I had been _falling_ in love, but I suddenly felt so sure. I had been fascinated by him when we first met. I grew to be transfixed by him during those long hours. And even though I lost my memories, I still held onto the thought of him, completely and totally captivated. He always beguiled me. I had never wanted to let go of him. And because of the fortuitous loophole cause by none other than Jareth himself...I never did. I was his equal, by his own doing, and that granted me the power to salvage a piece of him all this time regardless of the memory spell.

I thought about Angel's comments about how I had always been in love with Jareth, and how I'd been in swimming in an empty sea without my memories. She was right. Now I could just float, peacefully.

Opening my eyes slowly, I saw Jareth sitting across from me on the floor, looking utterly spent. His nostrils were flared as he looked at me, sweating dripping down his right temple. He was on edge. Why did _he_ seem so nervous? I thought he'd be happy about my memories returning. After all, it was he who encouraged the idea.

I gulped and let out a breath of air, trying to relax my muscles to get them to move again. "Jareth? Are...are you alright?" I asked, crawling towards him.

He exhaled heavily, as though he had been holding his breath this whole time. "You're asking _me_ if I'm alright?" he finally questioned.

I sat crossed leg and stared blankly at him, not knowing what to say. "I...yes, are you alright?" I repeated more sternly.

Jareth waved his hand in the other nonchalantly. "Other than the fact I just exerted a large amount of energy in order to infuse your mind with your lost memories...yes, I do believe I'm fine. The real question is...how are _you?"_

I frowned. I wasn't sure how I felt to be honest. It would make sense if I felt the need to freak out or... _something_. Instead, I felt...calm. And more at peace than ever. I was handling this far better than the night Jareth appeared on top of me weeks ago anyway.

"I'm fine, I think," I answered after a short while. "If you were watching me that whole time, then I'm sure you know how excruciatingly unpleasant that was. But..."

He raised his eyebrows when I didn't finish my sentence. "But?"

"But I'm glad it happened. You were right. I needed to do that."

He nodded once. "I hoped that would be your answer. Am I still such a _creep_ in your eyes?"

I looked down to the floor, ashamed of accusing Jareth that he was some sort of monster earlier. "No."

"Good." He looked away from me.

I wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily though. "But you weren't exactly innocent."

Jareth scoffed. "No. I wasn't. But neither were you. It was you who wished Tobias away, after all."

Narrowing my eyes at him, I let out a huff. "I wouldn't even have known to do such a thing had it not been for you, you know. You gave that book to me on purpose, just _waiting_ for me to wish him away. All so you could meet me. So that's not fair for you to say."

I blushed and looked away from Jareth when I said that. Seeing as how immature it made me look back then, I'm sure he still thinks the same thing.

"Life isn't fair, Sarah," I heard him murmur.

"I can't believe I actually wished Toby away like that," I confessed, feeling ashamed of myself. "And I can't believe you actually _took_ him."

I saw Jareth close his eyes, as though he was feeling impatient. "I had no choice, Sarah. You wished him away to me. It was... _is_ my duty."

"Yeah, under false pretenses," I snapped. "And what would have happened had I not won? You would have just kept him?"

He opened his eyes again and frowned at me. "No. Of course not. Though it'd be going against the rules _significantly_."

"You should have just told me the truth," I murmured. "You know, maybe have said, 'Hi, I'm Jareth, King of the Goblins. I'm here because I took your brother, but it was mostly because I just wanted to meet you and get to know you. Can I take you out?'"

I watched Jareth scoff again. "Please. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And like I told you before, if I could go back and change certain things I would. And technically I can, but. Would you truly want me to?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. He could go back in time? I didn't understand his implication or his question.

"I mean, if I wanted to go back ten years to that night and reorder time to do it all over again...I could."

My eyes widened at his statement. Jareth was that powerful? "You...you can? Then why didn't you? You could have saved us all this trouble."

"While I am capable of such a feat, it is forbidden unless it is for a worthy cause," he explained. "It can disrupt the natural order of things and cause unwanted problems in my world, and in yours. Fate is not meant to be tampered with."

My heart sank a little bit when he implied I wasn't a worthy enough cause to reorder time for, but I tried not to take it personal. I was only one person in the scope of things. I pursed my lips, and nodded as though I understood. "I see. What if I wished for it?"

Jareth raised one eyebrow and folded his arms. "I'd have no choice but to oblige, despite not wanting to. You're champion of the Labyrinth after all. That automatically grants you certain privileges."

 _I didn't know that._ Sighing, I replied, "Interesting. To answer your question though...no, I probably wouldn't want you to go back and change things. I suppose it doesn't matter anyway, seeing as everything worked out in its own."

Jareth winked at me. "See? Fate."

"Giving me my memories back doesn't qualify as messing with fate?" I then asked, genuine curiosity laced in my tone.

"No, it would not," Jareth responded. "Seeing as you've technically already endured those events. If I went back in time though, who knows what would happen."

Well, I suppose that made sense. "Huh. Fate is a funny thing," I noted.

"Indeed," Jareth agreed.

We sat there together, quietness taking over the room, neither of us not quite knowing what to say. I was still surprised at how well I was handling all of this. I fidgeted with my fingers and looked around the room. I opened my mouth several times to say something, but no words came out. That is, until I had a legit question to ask.

"Which door was it?"

Jareth looked at me, uncertainty taking over his face. "I beg your pardon?"

I hesitated a minute before telling him what I meant. "You know, the riddle?" I clarified. "When I fell down into those... _hands._ Did I choose the right door? Or would the other door really have lead straight to the castle?"

Jareth simply smirked, as though something was funny to him. "What do you think?" he asked me in a mischievous manner.

"I think I chose wrong."

"You did," he simply stated.

"I knew it."

He tilted his head and offered me his hand, which I took. "You know, Sarah. I truly didn't think I'd ever see you again. The way things ended between us...I'm sorry."

A light smile took over my face, and I clenched his hand in understanding. "I know. I'm sorry too. Lucky for you, I just couldn't shake you."

"Yes, remind me to pat myself on the back for inadvertently granting you the power of equality. I've outdone myself, truly."

"For my will is as strong..." I mumbled, staring at our joined hands.

"Precisely."

My head tilted as I looked from our hands into Jareth's blue, icy eyes. "Why did you do it anyway?"

"Do what?" he implored, wrinkling his forehead.

"Give me the power to be your equal," I stated. "I mean, I get I had to prove it first by beating the Labyrinth but...why even bother with awarding me that?"

Jareth shrugged. "I believed you deserved it. I've always held you near and dear to me, Sarah. Always."

I smiled at nothing in particular. "I suppose I did too," I said, letting out a sigh. "Even if you did try and have me killed by The Cleaners...the not so helping hands...those crazy birds...your goblin horde...not to mention I could have suffocated in that oubliette..."

"I get it, Sarah," Jareth interrupted. "But must I remind you that..."

"...Yeah, yeah, I was never in any real danger," I said, cutting him off. "Still, you had a horrible way of showing affection if you were as interested as you say you were."

Jareth grinned and kissed the back of my knuckle. "I sang to you, though. Poured my tired, lonely heart out to you."

I had to roll my eyes at that. "Uh huh, sure. You were just trying to distract me, remember?"

"I'm rather sure I told you I could kill two birds with one stone - make you forget about Toby _and_ make you fall deeply in love with me."

Chuckling, I shoved Jareth lightly. "You're an idiot. You drugged me, so there was no way that plan would have worked."

"No?" he questioned, pulling me into his lap. "Are you sure?" he went on, kissing my ear lobe. "And stop saying I drugged you."

Laughter left my mouth. "Pretty sure," I said all breathy. Of course I was somewhat lying, and he knew it, proving it by nipping my neck. "Okay, maybe it worked a little bit," I admitted.

I felt him smirk as his lips were still against my neck. "You're positive you're alright? You just went through quite the ordeal."

Turning my heads towards him when he asked this, I leaned back a little to look at him. I caressed his cheek with my hand, feeling how warm he was. Usually his skin was cold, but tonight was different. I had almost forgotten I admitted to myself earlier that I love him. It felt odd thinking I had that epiphany after getting my memories back, and the thought should have scared me, for it was much... _much_ too soon for me to feel this way. But then I remembered I had known Jareth for much longer than I thought, even if it was in my dreams for the most part. I had been longing for him for seven years. Hell, I was even doomed with Paul from the start _because_ of my longing for Jareth.

As my hand went down his cheek and to his chest, I felt his heart. It was beating so fast. That's when it clicked: I might have been infatuated with Jareth all these years; and maybe a part of me fell in love with him in the Labyrinth. But I now realize that I've fallen in love with the Jareth _I've come to know._ Lust had turned to yearning. Yearning had transformed into like. And now...that like has blossomed into love. He'd been so amazing these past several weeks; so patient and understanding. If it took getting my memories back to realize it, so be it.

"I'm okay. Really," I told him truthfully, finally answering his question.

Silence lingered between us for what felt like ten long minutes, when really I'm sure it was only a few.

"Jareth?" I said, feeling myself quiver. Was I seriously about to tell him I love him?

He stared back me patiently. "Yes, precious?"

"I..." _Oh god, here goes nothing._ "I...um...canIvisitmyfriendsagain?"

 _Well shit._

Jareth chuckled. "Of course. I can certainly arrange that."

I smiled in disappointment. Not at Jareth, but for my lack of bravery to tell him how I felt.

"When would you like to see them?" he asked.

My body melted into Jareth's as I sat on his lap on the floor. I nudged my head in the nook between his neck and shoulder, getting comfortable. "I don't know. I guess I could wait until the Fall Festival. Speaking of which..."

"Hmm?"

"Your castle is filthy, from what I remember."

He laughed and kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me tightly. "I told you, you wished you hadn't seen it. I promise it'll be in pristine condition come the ball."

"Let's hope," I teased.

"Come. You must be tired." Jareth stood up then, lifting me up with him and carried me to bed. He tucked me in, turned off the lamp on the nightstand, and crawled onto the other side, spooning me when he too got comfortable.

"I'm glad you're not angry with me," he said out of nowhere once we got situated in the bed.

My entire body turned so I was facing him in bed. "I'm glad I'm not either," I acknowledged earnestly. "But you're gonna have to make up for some things."

Even in the dark, I could see Jareth's face contort into that of confusion. "And what do I need to make up for?"

I kissed him on the nose quickly and flipped over again, turning away from him. "For sending the cleaners after me."

* * *

 **JARETH**

Sarah lay in the bed we shared together in her apartment, eyes shut. I had gone to make her coffee and I now stood over her, smiling. I couldn't believe she had actually asked for her memories back. I was mentally and physically exhausted from carrying out her wish, as I was not prepared, but I couldn't have been happier. Now she had an idea as to what our relationship was like back then. I only hoped she wasn't disappointed; I'm not exactly proud of my actions from _that_ night. But her resilience never failed to amaze me. Most people would have had a meltdown after such an experience. But not her. She truly was my equal.

I saw her stir. "Are you awake?"

"Mmm," she murmured, her eyes still closed.

"I made you coffee," I mentioned, as though that would get her attention.

"Mmmhmmm..." I heard her mumble more.

A soft chuckle left my throat and I placed her coffee on her night stand. I'm sure she was exhausted, for she'd had an incredibly long night last night. But the festival was only in three weeks and I needed to get to the castle to go over those final revisions with Lady Alina. I was overdue to visit with her again to begin setting up for the ball, for I had kept putting it off. Lucis sent me a crystal early this morning telling me I could no longer wait.

"I need to return to the castle for a bit, precious," I told her. "I'm needed for some final thoughts on the festival in nearly thirty minutes. I shouldn't be long. Call on me when you're up and feeling well. I made sure the coffee will remain hot for you."

As I began to walk away, Sarah's hand was on my wrist, trying to pull me back into her bed. "Don't go," she whined, a frown forming on her face. "Stay with me. I'm up, I promise."

I knelt down on the floor and kissed her forehead gently. "You're exhausted, precious. You need rest."

Her eyes opened lazily, allowing me to get a glimpse of those emerald green eyes I once called cruel. I clenched my jaw at the thought.

"Rest is for the weak," she muttered as she yawned. She then sat up slowly and stretched, her tank top rising above her belly button. "You made me coffee?" she asked, a sleepy smile taking over.

"I did."

I watched Sarah take the coffee from her night stand and sip it. She must have savored the taste, for her eyes closed and all I heard was, "Mmm, god that's good."

"I'm glad you approve," I said proudly.

Setting the coffee down, Sarah took my hand again and pulled back into bed. "Come here," she demanded, voice low and persuasive. I didn't hesitate to roll into her cozy embrace. Her warmth kindled me a fresh desire as she kissed me good morning. Gods, she was perfect.

"How are you feeling?" I inquired, laying my head down on her lap. I was worried she'd feel different this morning about everything, hoping she wouldn't.

"I kind of have a headache," she answered. "But...I feel surprisingly well. No aftershocks, so that's good. So what's this about the festival?" she then questioned, her hands caressing my head. "When is it again?"

She seemingly didn't want to talk about last night, and I didn't want to push it. I knew she had to have been _somewhat_ affected from getting her memories back. Still- I chose not to implore further. "In exactly three weeks," I replied, answering her question. "Are you excited?"

I looked up and saw her lips purse as she thought about my question. "Yeah, I am," she said, though I didn't know how truthful she was being. "But I'm kind of nervous. The last ball I went to didn't exactly turn out that well."

I could hear the light jest in her voice, though I knew she was more serious than not. "This one will be better," I promised.

"Are you going to go over things with me? You know- how I'm supposed to act, who I'll meet, etcetera?"

"Yes, actually," I replied, sitting up from her embrace. "Would you like to come to the castle with me now so we may begin doing exactly that?"

Her eyes widened at my question and she laughed. More like scoffed really. "Wait, seriously? Like... _now_ now?"

A smile took over my face and I laughed too. "Yes, I'm serious."

Sarah pushed her hair back behind her ear and I could tell she was nervous at the sudden suggestion.

"I guess now works," she said, her tone laced with uncertainty.

"What's wrong?" I asked in genuine concern.

She shook her head lightly. "Nothing. It's just...I don't know. Going back there makes me nervous. It's the place where everything turned to shit between us."

Her worry made me frown. "Sarah, don't think that way. Like you said last night, we're here now. You don't have to come if you absolutely don't want to though."

A breath of air escaped her mouth and she sat up straight. "No. No, I should go. This is important. I'll start getting ready."

I watched her get out of bed, but my palm closed over her hip, bringing her back down on the bed with me. Before she could even respond, I sealed my mouth over hers. The kiss must have fueled her desire, because Sarah's fingers were suddenly wrapped around my cock, making it hard. She moaned, and one hot kiss melted into another until I drifted downward, my mouth descending on her neck. I lifted her tank top up and off her body. My tongue then raked over one nipple as my hand closed over her other breast, making her gasp. She instinctively thrust her chest deeper into my grasp - and my mouth. The swirl of my tongue around the wet tip of her breast made her crazy, and I felt one of her legs swoop across me to draw me in closer. What a few seconds before had been licking, now turned to sucking, and I drew the sensitive peak deeper into my mouth, shooting a blast of hot delight straight to her cunt.

"Jareth," she breathed, fingers threading through my hair. "Jareth - what time is your meeting?"

I released her nipple from my mouth, my breath warming the pink bud when I said, "Nine thirty. Why?"

I could feel Sarah's lust deflate. "We have twenty minutes till."

"Shit," I whispered, and we both went still. I lowered one soft, gentle kiss to the flesh directly next to her nipple and said, "To be continued."

"Damn straight," she said and kissed me again before hopping off the bed.

As she pulled away to get ready, I wanted to howl my frustration but held it in. Duty called, and I needed to show Sarah the ropes with my world.

I sighed. This ought to be interesting.

* * *

AN: I'm so sorry for the delay once again! I put off writing this chapter because honestly, I had a really hard time figuring out how I wanted everything to go with Sarah regaining her memories. But I just went for it, so I hope it is to everyone's liking. I know some might be wondering how she handled that so well without entirely freaking out, but. I didn't want Sarah to freak out again like she did in Chapter 6. She's strong so she can handle things better now.

A couple of things I want to point out:

1) We're nearing the end of this story. Like...3 more chapters and it's done.

2) There will be a sequel though, where everything comes together. This story was mostly meant to build up the relationship between S+J and add in a few things that are to come between them in the future. So we'll see all the drama really unfold then.

3) I'm stoked for the ball. Sexy time, family, ex girlfriends, oh my!

Next chapter should be fun, Sarah and Lucis will meet, woo hoo! And don't worry, our friend Angel isn't out of sight and mind just because she wasn't referenced in this chapter.

I should be getting Ch. 19 out within the next couple of weeks :D I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Pleeeeeeeeease review!


	19. Chapter 19

**JARETH**

"Everything looks the same, and yet…completely different," I heard Sarah say beside me. Our hands were intertwined and she was eyeing everything in the castle with wonder.

We left her apartment shortly after deciding she'd accompany me today to the castle so I could begin introducing her to my world – properly this time, with no games; I wanted to give her a tour of the castle and meet Lucis to start with. Perhaps even let her see her old friends like she wanted, given all went well and she felt comfortable with the notion.

Even though I was the one who encouraged the idea of her coming this morning, I was beginning to feel anxious for bringing her here almost immediately after suggesting it. I didn't wish to overwhelm her too soon, and this could have been a horrible idea. So far, however, she seemed to be doing alright. I, on the other hand, felt uneasy and tense. Especially now that she was taking in her surroundings, and I had much weighing on my mind still, like Angel and that damn book. I hadn't brought it up again to Sarah given everything that just happened, but I knew we'd need to revisit that subject again. Soon. For now though, I wanted her mind to settle.

"I thought it was a lot bigger from what I remember," she proceeded to say, still looking around. "Guess not."

"You were fifteen," I responded, somewhat offended that she insinuated my castle was small. "Everything probably looked bigger to you then as a teenager."

"I guess," she mumbled. "It could for sure use a picker upper. It's so dark and…dank. And yep, a bit filthy."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes as we continued walking. "Most castles are."

"They are?" she inquired, still looking around with curiosity. "Are you sure it isn't just yours?"

"And are _you_ going to keep insulting my place of residence?" I snapped, looking straight ahead. "Because if so, perhaps it would be best to bring you here at a different time."

I instantly felt her hand leave mine, and realized her strides were no longer parallel to my own. I ceased my own walking, and turned around only to find her looking quite vexed, with her arms folded and one leg strewn out to the side. It was the typical female pose; a woman ready to argue. Despite her display, I couldn't help but think she looked beautiful, even in an annoyed state. The moss green, off the shoulder sweater she wore made her eyes stand out and the color of her dark hair pop. Simply put - she was ravishing.

Sighing, I took three large steps towards her. I didn't want to piss her off considering her fragile state. Well, the fragile state I assumed her to be in. "I apologize. I didn't intend for that to come out so harshly."

"What's up with you?" she asked, her face hardening. "You're the one who wanted me to come with you here today, but you've been nothing but a moody jerk since we left my apartment."

"I know. I'm sorry," I expressed. "I thought it would be a good idea. Then the reality of the situation hit me. You were right earlier – you just got your memories back. I don't want you being here to inflame any post-traumatic stress."

Her eyebrows furrowed as though my explanation didn't make sense. "So that's a reason to be all snappy with me?"

"No. I realize I'm taking my stress out on you, and I shouldn't," I admitted. "I'm just…" I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself. "I'm suddenly a little apprehensive, that's all. For _you_."

She lowered her arms in a truce-like way, and exhaled as well, taking my hands in hers once again. "Jareth, if I felt I couldn't handle it, I wouldn't have come. I get that you're concerned about me, but you don't have to be. I'm a big girl, I'll be fine. Stop worrying so much."

I felt a small smile unfurl on my face, and I kissed her forehead. "You're right. I forget how _strong willed_ you are."

A chuckle escaped her. "Yeah, so maybe you can start being a little _more so_ , then it'll pass onto me. Isn't that how the power between us works or something?"

I shook my head slightly at her nativity on our shared power. "Again, I still don't know how far that power of equality extends between us, precious. It's something we'll need to research at some point."

Kissing her knuckles, I once more led us down the hallway leading to my office, where we'd meet Lucis. On our way there, I mentioned random facts to Sarah about the history of the castle, how many living quarters there were, and when I was explaining who certain Fae in several paintings on the walls were, she interrupted me.

"Where's the Escher room?" she randomly asked, as we stood in front of one such painting.

I felt the blood leave my face, and my hands instantly became sweaty. _Damn those new founded memories_. Once again, something _I_ encouraged and now I was faced with burdening questions from our past; questions that brought up unpleasant remembrances.

I turned to her, and she to me. "Why do you ask?" I questioned, trying to play dumb.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I kind of wanted to see the room where we last saw each other."

"I thought you didn't want to come here today because you wanted to _avoid_ depressing feelings concerning our last meeting," I pointed out.

She looked back to the painting of a family member who I had never even met, and sighed. "I know, but I almost feel like it's something I should see. At some point, anyway. For closure or something. Not now, but…someday."

 _Closure?_ I supposed I understood that reasoning, but I was also someone who enjoyed the phrase 'let sleeping does lie.' To an extent, that is. Why couldn't we just move forward without rehashing old wounds? The memories should have been closure enough.

"Can I be candid with you?" I asked her.

She bobbed her head up and down slowly.

"That room is…no longer what it used to be. You remember how it looked after you jumped to reach Toby?"

Her forehead creased, remembering. "Yeah, pieces of the stairs were hovering everywhere, right?"

I nodded. "Yes. It's remained that way ever since – fragmented."

Her eyebrows furrowed more. "Really? Why? Doesn't it just go back to normal after you face your runners there?"

I felt my face pull back in confusion at her assumption that I'd had other runners in that room in the same capacity as her. "Sarah…I've never confronted another _human_ in that room. Let alone be rejected by one. After you told me I had no power over you, the room was left in ruins. You quite literally turned my world, precious thing."

She frowned and looked down to the floor momentarily. "Well, shit," she whispered, and her green eyes gazed into mine again. "I'm…sorry?"

I chuckled lightly, and took her hand into mine. "You should be. It really is an eye sore. If you truly wish to see it though, then I suppose I can arrange that."

We continued our trek and eventually reached the large wooden doors that granted access to my office several minutes later. I opened it slowly, and immediately saw Lucis sitting at the desk going through paper work. When we entered, he looked up and smiled joyously, standing to greet us.

"Lucis, I have someone very special I'd like you to meet," I announced, gently guiding Sarah into the room.

He walked over to us, the smile spreading on his face. "My, if it isn't the infamous Sarah Williams, defeater of the Labyrinth, and breaker of hearts. Here in the flesh." He took Sarah's hand and kissed it, causing her to blush. "It is so nice to finally meet you. I'm Lucis _._ "

"Lucis, huh? I bet all the women call you _de-lucius,_ " she said to him. When no response came from Lucis, who looked absolutely confused, she spoke again. "That was a joke. A bad one, apparently." Clearing her throat, she tried to save face. "Um. It's nice to meet you too. I'm Sarah. But… you know that already."

I pursed my lips trying not to laugh at Sarah's attempted joke and Lucis' dubiety; he was always horrible with witticisms. He laughed lightly nonetheless to be polite, and offered her something to drink and eat.

"No, thank you, I'm alright for now," Sarah told him and looked around my office. "So… do you live in the castle, too?"

Lucis nodded. "I certainly do. When one is at dear Jareth's beck and call every hour of every day, it's necessary to live here." He winked, indicating he was slightly jesting.

"Don't act as though you aren't _honored_ to live here in the South, my friend," I said, reaching for a goblet of wine to pour for myself. "Many would be grateful, especially those in the North."

"Not unless you're Orion," Lucis murmured. "Speaking of whom…he sent us another _new_ agreement." Lucis then grabbed what looked to be a handful of papers, and handed them to me.

I cursed under my breath, taking the stack; why must everything with that Fae be so damn difficult? "I thought you said the trade deal was coming together _nicely_." I scanned through the agreement quickly, and scoffed before setting my wine down. "He's since added _new_ clauses?" Agitation spreading through me, I threw the papers up in the air and put my hands on my waist. "I was hoping for this to be finalized before the ball."

Lucis sighed and his hands came up in ' _I don't know what to tell you_ ' way. "Apparently he's had time to think on everything and feels as though he is entitled to more ore from the mines. Not sure why he thinks that." Lucis turned to Sarah, who was being patient with our business talk, and explained to her, "Orion is a king up in the North. Jareth _adores_ him."

 _More like loathe._

"I can see that," Sarah stated. "Why do you have beef with him?" she then asked me.

"Jareth doesn't get beef from Orion," Lucis disputed. "We grow our own food here."

I rolled my eyes at Lucis' stupidity. He was so unfamiliar with human terms. "She doesn't mean _cattle_ ," I said. "She's wondering why I dislike the imbecile." I picked up my wine again and took a seat on the edge of my desk. "I can't stand him because he's a perpetual know it all, thinks the world owes him something like Lucis suggested, and constantly tries getting under my skin. Intentionally, it would seem. _And_ he's a trouble maker; he tried telling my mother I was distracted at court recently."

"What? How do you know that?" Sarah asked, surprised.

"Because I've known the idiot for years, he's…"

Sarah shook her head, and cut me off. "No, how do you know he said you're distracted to your mom?"

"She told me," I stated matter of fact and sipped my wine.

Her eyebrows pinched together. "You saw your mom recently? I didn't know that."

Narrowing my eyes at her sudden irateness, it didn't take me long to pick up on the fact that Sarah's feelings were apparently hurt. Thinking back to our past conversations, I remembered we'd discussed my mother a few times, and she was probably under the impression I'd been keeping my relationship status with my mother from her. I knew she was interested in being kept in the loop regarding said relationship. It simply didn't occur to me to mention anything.

"Yes, I've seen her recently," I admitted. "She came by and asked what had been going on with me. It would appear that our dear _Orion_ mentioned to her that I was distracted, by... _someone else._ "

Sarah crossed her arms and nudged her head forward, subtly telling me to go on. "And?"

"And I told her about you."

She sucked in her breath. "You…you did? What did she say?"

"That she's very much looking forward to meeting you," I told her ecstatically. My mother may have not said those words _directly_ , but I knew she was thrilled to meet the woman who had my heart. That part was truthful. I left out the part that I was a bit hesitant to want my mother and Sarah to meet, but it would happen nonetheless since both women would be at the festival. That would be interesting. "I decided to take your advice. I plan to…work on things with her," I added.

Sarah smiled gently and reached out to touch my forearm. "I'm glad to hear that. Why didn't you say anything to me about it?"

 _Because I've been focused on my relationship with you, worried about your well being with that blasted book and your lying friend Angel, dealing with ridiculous trade deals, and trying to avoid a conspiracy against my kingdom. The conspiracy no one believes to be happening except_ me _._

"I'm sorry, precious. I've been preoccupied with so many other things, it must have skipped my mind."

"Well, I'm excited to meet her too, I suppose," Sarah told me, then turned to Lucis. "Do you have a hot date, Lucis?"

Lucis perked up from being asked a question. "For the ball? No. Not yet, anyway. However, we are to meet Lady Alina soon."

Damn. I'd almost forgotten that was the reason I came here today. How the hell was I to navigate _this_ situation? Sarah was here and was to meet my former lover now? No wonder I regretted having her come with me. I suppose I just wouldn't say anything to her about it. She wouldn't know otherwise, right?

"Lady Alina?" Sarah questioned out loud. "Who's that?'

"Lady Alina is one of the most sought out planners in the Underground," Lucis explained. "She's assisting us with the ball preparations."

"Cool," Sarah said warmly and seemingly unknowingly. "Well, then let's go."

* * *

"Good morning, your majesty," Lady Alina greeted me all too happily as soon as I walked into the ballroom. She was as cheery as ever to see me, and the first thing I regrettably noticed was that her breasts were quite literally about to pop out of her green dress. Her hair even looked more tousled today. She was trying much too hard to gain my affections, I almost felt bad for her.

Several goblins were around her, as they were the ones who guided her into the room. I dismissed them, and nodded my head at her. "Lady Alina," I said, kissing her knuckles. "Always a pleasure."

"The pleasure is _always_ mine," she replied sultrily. I saw her brown eyes, which were intently staring into my own, suddenly look away from me and towards the entrance of the ballroom. I grinned and turned to see where her eyes had landed upon. I knew who she had seen of course; Sarah and Lucis finally entered, the two of them speaking and laughing with one another. They seemed to be getting long, something much to my delight.

"Ah, there you two are," I said, pretending to be surprised by their presence. "Lady Alina and I were just about to get started finalizing the details of the ball."

As Sarah and Lucis walked towards us, I noticed Sarah's disposition change slightly when she saw Alina; her smile was replaced with a wary expression, and it was blindingly obvious that she was taking in Alina's appearance. In fact, both women were undeniably picking one another apart, for I could see in my peripheral vision that Alina looked surprised to not only see the presence of a human, but a female one at that. She must be wondering who Sarah was and vice versa.

Surely Sarah will have no idea that Alina and I have a past together. Right?

"Lady Alina, you already know Lucis," I said when Sarah and Lucis were standing next to me. "Please allow me to introduce Sarah Williams. Sarah, this is Lady Alina."

* * *

 **SARAH**

Today had started out weird enough, with me regaining my memories and trying to sort through everything that had happened all those years ago. It was a lot to take in, but I managed to stay strong and just go with it. No big deal that I unleashed hundreds of moments in my mind that I had no idea truly existed. All this time I thought Jareth and the ballroom and everything else about him was just a figment of my imagination...only to find out that he's been real. He's _always_ been real. And a huge piece of me and who I've become. I can't believe I was about to tell him I loved him earlier, either. What was I thinking? It was _way_ too soon.

Just like coming here today probably was. I was hesitant to come to his castle _because_ of my memories, but I knew it was inevitable and something I needed to do. For my own sanity, to make sure this really _was_ real. When we left my apartment, I was nervous but as we walked throughout his castle earlier, I was delighted to realize that I wasn't dreaming and his home was a place I'd been to before. It was surreal to see it again, and my worries were starting to go away. Unlike his. He had been moody and tense, thinking I couldn't handle any of this. In one breath he gave me such confidence and thought that I could handle anything, then in another he thought everything would overwhelm me. When I managed to convince him that I'm not some delicate flower, his mood seemed to lighten. Especially when he introduced me to Lucis.

I had been looking forward to meeting his closest friend, and I was surprised by his appearance. Here I was thinking he'd be old and weary or downright ugly, but he was quite handsome; golden blonde hair that would give Fabio a run for his money, green eyes like mine, and he was tall - taller than Jareth. He was funny too, albeit a little slow with my sayings, but I could tell we were going to get along just great.

Unlike the female Fae I immediately noticed when Lucis and I walked into the ballroom together.

My first impression of seeing this redheaded, big breasted stranger was that she was striking. Her long, wavy, auburn red hair cascaded down past her waist and contrasted beautifully against her milky white skin, especially in the green velvet dress she wore. She had full, red lips and dark brown eyes which were giving me a scathing look. She was about my height, maybe a bit taller, and had one of the most symmetrical faces I'd ever seen.

I never considered myself an ugly duckling or anything of the sorts before, but seeing this Alina chick inches away from me sure made me feel insignificant; you could just _tell_ she was an otherworldly being like Jareth. This must be what Bella Swan felt like in Twilight next to all those shiny and gorgeous vampires: inferior.

Despite feeling a little insecure, I stood tall. Neither one of us made any move to politely greet one another; we simply looked one another up and down with obvious indifference, trying to figure out each other's relationship to Jareth. She couldn't have just been a party planner like Lucis told me. No, this girl clearly was interested in Jareth in other ways, and given the way she regarded me and had her bimbo boobs falling out, I could tell they had history with each other. Did Jareth think I was stupid?

Just when I was about to say something, a goblin came running in and yelled for "kingy." Jareth groaned and looked down at the little guy who held a parchment of paper out for him.

"What is that, Griget?" Jareth inquired impatiently next to me.

"A letter, sire," Griget responded in a raspy voice. "From the Siren Warriors in the Southwest. Their queen has questions 'bout your upcoming soiree."

Jareth smiled proudly. "I see you're taking your vocabulary lessons seriously." Then he huffed when he took the letter from the small being. "What could those wanna-be Amazonian females want to know about the Fall Festival? Whether or not they can use their useless powers and prey on weak males?"

 _Siren warriors?_ Who the hell were these ladies? And why did Jareth compare them Amazon women? _Was Wonder Woman real too_?! I watched him read the letter, but I could tell that Alina was still staring at me with bewilderment. Why was she being so creepy?

"I need to respond to this," Jareth sighed a few seconds later and then turned to me with a frown. "I'll be but a few minutes, precious. Lucis, can you please stay here with Sarah and Alina?"

He nodded. "Of course."

Before I could protest or ask to go with him, he sifted out of the room, leaving me alone with _her_ and Lucis.

Trying not to make direct eye contact with Alina, I was fidgety and looked around the ballroom, realizing it was the same one from my peach dream all those years ago. Although, it looked much larger now. Huge, in fact. Unlike the rest of Jareth's castle. That seemed to offend him.

The ballroom was mainly all white and made out of what looked like porcelain and marble, and there was of course a great chandelier that hung from the ceiling and intricate, golden designs around the walls. Stone pillars acted as décor across the vast space, and there were windows around the room with beautiful colored shades over them, half open and allowing guests to see out into a field which I assumed to be the Labyrinth itself. It was a beautiful room, as was the view. Something you'd see from a movie or something.

"How… fascinating."

The soft feminine voice distracted my thoughts, and I looked to the person speaking and saw that it was of course Alina, who was still regarding me warily.

I felt one of my eyebrows raise and I tilted my head, crossing my arms in the process. "What exactly is so fascinating?" I asked. _Why did I sound so defensive! Don't let this bitch get to you._

"You," she answered, tilting her own head. "I mean, a human? In the Underground, who knows the Goblin King?"

 _Intimately,_ I thought. But I didn't want to brag or feel the need I had to prove something to her. Yet. "Why is that so fascinating?"

Lady Alina just scoffed, as though she couldn't believe she were talking to me. "I just never took Jareth as someone who dallied with mortals outside his silly job."

 _Why I oughta…_

Before I could even counter and say something equally as offensive back, Lucis stepped in.

"She's not just _any_ human, my dear Alina," he said as though he were talking to a child and stepped in closer to me. "She's Sarah Williams – defeater and champion of the Labyrinth. And Jareth will be escorting her to the upcoming ball. You _might_ want to show her some respect."

Alina's face turned red and without moving her face or neck, her eyes scanned back and forth between Lucis and myself, trying to process what the hell was going on. The look on her face was priceless.

"I see," she finally stated, clearly embarrassed and cleared her throat. Still, she couldn't help herself. "I've never heard of a human conquering the Labyrinth before..."

I shrugged and flipped my hair nonchalantly. "Yeah, well. That not the _only thing_ I've conquered from the Underground," I told her, hoping she'd get the hint.

She pursed her lips, and her nostrils flared a bit. She got the hint alright. Which only proved my hypothesis from earlier: these two definitely had history together. And this broad must _really_ still have a thing for Jareth, based on her possessive demeanor.

"Well, I hope you enjoy yourself at the upcoming festival," she said insincerely.

I gave her the biggest smile I could muster. "Aw, thanks. I plan to. Are party planners invited, as well?"

She gave me a condescending closed mouth smile. "Of course. Jareth and I are _close_ friends, and he very much depends on my _expertise,_ should anything go awry."

I nodded and mentally rolled my eyes. "I'll bet he does."

"I apologize, everyone," Jareth suddenly said and all three of us turned to him. "Shall we finish up here?"

* * *

After Jareth finished his business with Alina about forty five minutes later, Lucis escorted her out. She didn't leave without giving me one last scathing look, and all I could do was give her the biggest smile again and tell her how Jareth and I very much looked forward to seeing her in a few weeks at the festival. That didn't seem to make her too happy. In fact, my entire presence didn't seem to make her too happy and there were times that we were both very obviously taking jabs at one another. I forgot how much fun it could be to dabble with another female over a man. A man who I knew wouldn't give another female the time or day. I'm not sure when I became so confident in the fact that Jareth only wanted me, but it was just a feeling I got.

"What a doll," I said when she left the room. "She was just _lovely._ "

"Oh come off it," Jareth chuckled. "Alina is harmless."

My head shook from side to side. "Ehh...debatable. She might be a harmless party planner, but you forgot to mention she was an _ex-lover_ of yours," I then pointed out cheekily, bumping my elbow into him.

He looked to me with a surprised expression. "You knew?"

Tilting my head down low, I raised my eyebrows. "Please. It was painstakingly obvious. You couldn't see the pissing contest? Really?"

Jareth shrugged. "I supposed I noticed some indifference..."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" I wanted to know.

He sighed. "Why would I? It was long ago, and I have no interest in her now other than for her reputation. She really is the best planner in the southern region. Even kingdoms in the West seek her assistance."

 _I'm sure they do._

Sensing that Jareth didn't want to focus on _Tits McGee,_ I decided to forego the topic and move onto something more important. Something he'd sort of just brought up. _"_ You know, one of these days you'll have to tell me all about the kingdoms and regions. I imagine I'll be meeting all these people soon, right?"

He smiled, and I could tell he was glad I was off the subject of his former paramour. "Yes. I think it's time we moved on to etiquette and a brief history lesson, actually."

He offered his hand which I took to mean he was going to sift us somewhere. I braced myself for the motion, as well as my brain, for I was more than likely about to be told a lot about this place he called home.

Luck don't fail me now.

* * *

Jareth and I sat in his study and had been for the past couple of hours, where he first taught me a brief overview of the nine kingdoms and who ruled where. He then went over some etiquette guidelines and how to address certain kings and queens in the different regions. The etiquette part was easy, but learning about the Underground and the nine kingdoms made my brain hurt.

Apparently, the duty of the kings and queens in each part of the Underground acted as managers of sorts, while the High King and Queen were basically the CEO's – the big guys, the ones who made the ultra-big decisions, and they trusted the little guys to make the small decisions. It still baffled me that at one point the Goblin Kingdom was the primary authoritative region. I still thought it should be, given the fact the Labyrinth was in the South, and the Underground depended on its life source to, well… _be_. But what do I know? Jareth said he didn't want that responsibility anyway.

"So, nine kingdoms," I began when Jareth was testing me. "The Capital is in the Northeast, ran by High Queen Merethyl and High King Ivlisar," I said. "Orion, your favorite, is king in the freezing far North, the dwarves in the Mid-North led by King Hendrom and Queen Fikhida. Trolls in the Northwest. I can't believe you associate with trolls."

"Go on," Jareth prodded, ignoring my comment about the trolls and not caring that I didn't mention their names. They weren't his favorite, as told by him.

I sighed. "The sea kingdom is in the far west. Elsthea is their queen and Udraen is king. Southwest is led by Melora and is filled with those female warriors who also happen to be…sirens? They lure men and like fighting?"

"Precisely," he said as though that were the most normal thing ever.

"So is Wonder Woman real?" I inquired, thinking about what I thought earlier.

Jareth's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

I waved my hand passively. "Never mind. Forget it."

"Keep going, precious."

I pursed my lips, trying to remember everything. "You rule the Far South, king of goblins and ruler of Labyrinth. Which, by the way I totally think you're underrated as a leader. But whatever." I paused before continuing. "The Centaurs and Centaurides live in the Southeast."

"And who rules there?" Jareth quizzed me.

"Kivil and Vistral," I answered confidently. "Then you've got the Far East where the elves live. And that's Ranlen and Zeaena as queen and king."

Jareth clapped his hands together. "Excellent job, Precious. Those are the basics, and all you really need to know for now. Just remember those names and where they all reside."

I smiled, proud of myself. Then that's when something hit me. "So why aren't you or Orion married like everyone else? Or Queen Melora? I mean even the troll kingdom has a king and queen. I don't even wanna imagine what intercourse between _them_ is like."

Jareth laughed. "Believe me. No one does. And I can't speak for that fool Orion or Queen Melora, but I haven't married because I simply never felt the need to."

"And I guess those siren's enjoy the idea of polygamy too much to marry," I noted. "So you've really never gotten the urge to marry? Ever? In all your years of existence?"

I could tell my question was making him uncomfortable, though I didn't understand why. What was he hiding?

"You know, you still owe me a random fact today," I reminded him. "Spill."

Sighing as though he didn't truly want to divulge this to me, he waved his hand passively making it seem like it wasn't a big deal. "Fine. I almost did marry. Once."

Well that was news to me. "Wait, what?" _Wasn't expecting that random fact._

"Yes. It was long ago, like many things are."

I wasn't going to let him off that easy. "Who was she?"

"Her name is Clarissa. She comes from a prominent Fae family, and many liked the idea of us overseeing the South together. However, she's an opportunist and would have made for a horrible queen. It started off as an affair between us, but it was pushed into something more. I chose not to pursue it any longer."

"So you dumped her," I clarified.

"Yes. Much to the chagrin of not only my mother, but her family as well."

"Uh, yeah, I'll bet," I said. "No one likes being the dumpee."

The idea that her family disliked Jareth after ending things with their daughter and thinking about the fact how Jareth ruled over an important entity made me think of something that I wanted to know. "Do...do you get along with everyone in the Underground?" I asked carefully.

Jareth pondered my question, as though he were thinking about how many enemies he had. I was worried it was a lot, given the fact he was really thinking this question over. But again - I imagine that being a part of a family who ruled over the Labyrinth for years and ended the dynasty of the ones before them, who were at one point the CEO's of the Underground for centuries, would lead to some bitterness from others. The idea worried me.

"Yes, and no," he answered. "I get the large impression that many fear me and because of that, they are kiss asses. Or simply _assholes_. But I also know many respect me and seek my advice on many issues. Genuinely, that is."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why would they fear you?"

He sighed again. "Precious…anyone who oversees the Underground's life source is considered extremely powerful. That's all I'll say on the matter."

I knew Jareth was powerful, but his statement made me question just _how_ powerful. He mentioned he could bend time, and I've seen him do it. But did I really want to know what more he was capable of? I wasn't sure. "I never thought you to be humble," I teased. Biting my lip, I then stood up from my seat only to sit on his lap where he was sitting. I wanted to ease the tense conversation. "I didn't know you were almighty either."

His hands rested on my hips and I could feel one edging its way down to my inner thigh, the feel leaving instant effects. I then felt his lips on my earlobe, the sensation leaving goosebumps all over my body. "Would you like to see how almighty I can be?"

I quivered at his words. How could one question undo me instantly? I couldn't exactly respond, for his lips were lightly suckling and nipping at my earlobe still, and all I could do was whimper.

"What do you need, Sarah?" he asked softly.

"You," I managed to say.

A knock on his door interrupted us, and Jareth cursed out loud. "Who the hell is it?" he yelled.

"It's me, your majesty," Lucis answered.

Jareth only rolled his eyes and stood up, bringing me up with him. As he answered the door and spoke with Lucis through the small crack, I wasted no time in stripping, knowing Lucis couldn't see me.

My sweater came off first, followed by my boots and jeans. My bra was next, and I threw it in the direction of Jareth, where it landed on his hand and a small giggle left me. He turned to me, his eyes hot and avid.

"We'll pick this up later, Lucis," he said, still staring at me and shut the door on his friend's face.

Gazing at him hotly, I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of my panties, letting them drop. I stood before him naked, and I had to give him points for keeping his eyes on mine and not on my breasts. "I think you owe me, ace. About that rain check..."

His brow arched. "What of it?" he asked teasingly.

"I've been very patient all day and understanding with that twat you call a party planner. And don't think I forgot about the cleaners...I told you you owed me for that."

He tilted his head. "Would you like a reward or something, precious? For your _bravery_?"

I smiled. "Maybe."

A low growl rumbled through the air between us, and he stalked towards me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and squeezed, than caressed the length of my arms. "I suppose I can arrange that."

* * *

 **AN:** Wow four months without updating, almost five. I'm so sorry! I had a total brain fart on this story and how I wanted it to proceed. This literally all came out of me in a day or two, and I know how I want to finish it. So I'm thinking another couple of chapters before I begin the sequel. I really wanted this chapter to just be a glimpse into a day of J+S in the Underground for starters. We'll see MUCH more of it in the upcoming chapters. Then we've got things like double dates with Alexa, Angel and the book (don't worry, that hasn't left the building), and the BALLLLL!

So yeah, I ended this chapter with blue balls. But just think - next chapter will begin with lemons :D I've really loved the reviews I've gotten on this story. It was my first fan fic EVER and knowing there are so many of you who enjoy it fills my heart. So thank you a million times over for the support you guys!

Please review! Thank you thank you thank you!


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